Resolutions
by Ro-RoWeasley
Summary: Jess is on a mission to set things straight. She knows the dangers and consequences of committing such an action, but this time it's personal. What would you do to save the ones you love? Sequel to Beginnings – recommended you read that first as this contains many spoilers!
1. Prologue

**RESOLUTIONS**

**a Primeval fic by Ro-RoWeasley.  
****Sequel to _'Beginnings' -_ necessary to read that first, you have been warned!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or any of the team and other characters. I only own the fics I write and my tiny collection of OCs.**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

The raptor was wandering aimlessly round and round the huge birch tree, confused and disorientated. Becker would have found it quite comical if he wasn't so intent on getting rid of the damn thing.

He also would have shot it already of it hadn't been for Abby's stern reminder of her intent of returning the creatures uninjured and alive. "Becker only shoot as a last resort, we need to herd it back towards the anomaly."

Becker rolled his eyes and replied through gritted teeth, "Yes thank you _Abigail_, I'm well aware of how to handle this!"

Raptors were easy compared to other incursions they'd faced, so the job should be relatively quick and simple. But there was still every reason to be cautious; it was outnumbered, but that didn't mean it wouldn't put up a fight.

"Okay, we draw its attention, then split up and lead it back towards the anomaly. Connor, Emily, get ready for my signal." Matt ordered.

He and Abby nodded their agreement and they stepped into formation as they advanced further forward, Becker in front.

"Check." Came Connor's voice.

"Ready? One. Two. Thr-"

Becker suddenly became aware of rapid chatter echoing through his comms. The rest of the team appeared to have heard it too as Matt put up an arm to stop their plan in its tracks.

"Thompson, what's happening?" The team leader asked.

"_We have a second anomaly._" The relief coordinator informed them. "_Six miles west of your current position, backup team are close by and currently en route._"

Becker noted he sounded nervous but attempting to keep his cool. He wasn't fooled.

"Thompson, where?" He growled.

"_Stansted, sir. South car park."_

Panic shot through him. Jess.

Becker turned to Matt. "We've got to go now, Jess is there!"

He saw concern flash over the team leader's face before he replied in too calm a tone for Becker's liking, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We deal with the incursion here first, then we head over there. Renner's team will be there shortly, they can handle it. Besides, she might not even be in danger."

Becker was exasperated. Damn Matt for being so calm! Admittedly, the soldier was normally the same, but this was different. This was Jess.

He put a finger to his comm.  
"Renner, how far away are you?" he asked the Lieutenant.

"_Five miles away, sir. Traffic's a nightmare I'm afraid but we'll get there as fast as we can._"

"Thompson, can't you find an alternate route?"

"_They're already on it, I'm afraid. There's nothing more I can do. I'm getting CCTV now, I'll try my best to contact Jess. Patch into her car radio or something. Difficult job without a comm or black box signal, and mobiles don't give accurate enough positions but I'll try._"

That wasn't good enough. Becker dug out his mobile as he ran off towards the truck, ignoring the team's protests behind him and cursing the fact Jess didn't keep her comms in off-duty. That would be made compulsory for everyone from now on.

**. . .**

Jess pulled in to Stansted Airport and headed off towards the taxi station to meet her cousin. Lady Gaga music was blaring out of her speakers and she was quietly singing along, unconsciously bobbing her head and grinning. It had been a few years since she'd last seen Hannah – other than over hurried Skype calls - and she was practically bouncing in her seat in excitement. The lawyer was making a special trip home from America to join the family for Jess's twenty-first in just over a week's time. She was like a big sister and Jess had missed her terribly.

Jess was brought out of her reverie by her mobile ringing. She quickly dummed the volume and fumbled in her bag on the passenger seat until she found and clasped the vibrating device. No sooner had she pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear, her favourite voice asked urgently.

"_Jess, where are you?_"

"Well hello to you too! Becker I'm at Stansted, you know that. How's everything? You're not too stressed with Kyle are you?" She replied with a smirk, knowing how badly Becker got on with the relief coordinator.

"_Jessica, listen to me. Stay away from the south end, there's an anomaly._"

Jess gulped and her eyes widened, panic setting in. "But I'm there now, that's where I'm meeting Hannah!"

"_Get out of there, Jess! Turn around and leave or get inside the airport building as quick as you can. I'm on my way._"

Jess looked around, quickly scanning her position; she was nowhere near where she wanted to be yet. She was covered both sides by hedges and her car was only small. She figured she should be safe from the view of any incursion. Speaking of which…

"Becker, _is_ there an incursion?"

Becker almost yelled into his com in frustration, obviously annoyed with himself for not knowing, and then yelled back down the phone in reply. "_Yes. It's an Allosaurus. Jessica, move now!_"

Thinking now wasn't the time to disobey his orders as she had done before, Jess threw her phone back on the passenger seat and almost floored the accelerator, wanting to reach her destination as quick as she could.

She heard the creature before she saw it. A deep, loud, bloodcurdling roar that sent shivers down her spine. If she had been behind the ADD back at the safety of the ARC, it probably wouldn't have frightened her; she would have carried out her job professionally without much thought. But this time she was out in the field, in the firing line. In danger. Alone.

It scared the hell out of her.

Unable to see anything from the confines of the car, Jess was unable to react quick enough to avoid the collision. The Allosaurus appeared out of nowhere, jumping directly into the road and into her path. Her car, dwarfed by the size of the Jurassic predator, collided with its foot and spun as it kicked.

Jess screamed.

As it landed roughly on its roof facing the hedge, there was a sickening crunch as a second vehicle smashed into the Mini Cooper sidewards on, crushing the passenger side and imploding the windows. A second similar noise suggested a third car had been hit too.

As the vehicles settled and became still Jess lay dazed, vaguely aware she was upside-down. Her head felt so heavy and she fought in vain to keep her eyes open. As she began to succumb to the darkness, the last thing she heard was the crackling of the damaged stereo.

"_Jess? Jess? This is Thompson, do you copy?_"

Her last thought was one word.

_Becker_.

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_**[A/N: Real short chapter I know, sorry! But it's only a short opening scene, the others shall be normal length though I promise. This time it may be a long while between updates as I find Becker's character extremely difficult to write, although that might just be down to me being in Jess's head for the entirety of 'Beginnings' and I'm adjusting! But hey, it gives me an excuse to repeatedly watch him on YouTube, he's just beaut! ;)**_


	2. Dates

**CHAPTER 1**

**Dates**

* * *

Jess Parker threw her flat keys carelessly on the kitchen counter and flopped down on the sofa without bothering to remove her coat or her pink heels. It had been a difficult day and she needed a moment to chill.

The anomalies were becoming more and more frequent meaning her job was more than twice as hectic as usual. Today alone there had been seven, six of which had accompanying incursions and she'd been kept on her toes having at one point to direct three teams to different anomalies simultaneously. Consequently, there had been so many reports to process, as well as editing numerous press releases and deleting hours of CCTV footage.

She sighed and reached for the TV remote, reflecting sadly on how quiet her flat seemed, and how there was no one to moan aloud to. Abby and Connor had moved out just over two months ago yet she still wasn't used to being alone.

After the first few days she revelled in the new freedom, although after two weeks she began missing having company for meals. Heck, she even missed seeing Connor's dirty washing scattered around! It just wasn't the same no longer having flatmates.

Although, it meant plenty of privacy for her and Becker…

She smiled to herself as she switched the news on. Becker was spending more and more of his time outside of the ARC with her and she was thrilled at having finally broken him and releasing a different side, a much more carefree and loving Becker than the stoic, guilt-ridden, emotionally stunted soldier. He was still like that occasionally, on bad days, but Jess could bear it so much more now she was helping to soothe and better him.

Tonight he was coming over for their six-month anniversary date, and, in between anomalies, Jess hadn't stopped babbling.

Their relationship had come a long way since the first day they'd met over two years ago. She'd been immediately infatuated but it hadn't been love at first sight. No, instead she'd fallen for the handsome Captain more and more each day until she finally realised she was in love with him. And tonight she was determined to show him just how much he meant to her.

It was something neither of them had actually discussed, but Jess was confident that tonight she was ready to take the next step. Quite frankly, the desire was killing her!

Bringing herself back to the present, she looked at the vintage clock on the kitchen wall then squeaked and hurried upstairs to her room to begin the task of choosing an outfit.

Normally, she would have been prepared days in advance but Becker had refused to tell her what he'd planned or where he was taking her, not wanting to ruin the element of surprise. It was only first thing this morning after she'd repeatedly begged, and warned him they'd be very late if he had to wait for her to get ready, that he'd finally given in. They were going to his favourite restaurant he'd loved when he was a kid, French cuisine, formal dress.

Beaming, she dug out one of her posh outfits consisting of a navy cocktail dress with a diamante neck decoration that finished mid-thigh, navy satin slingbacks and a silver clutch bag matching the diamante. For a splash of her trademark colour, she added her orange Alice band to the coat hanger before running back downstairs into the kitchen to rummage in her work bag for her makeup.

She was about to scurry back upstairs when her fingers met the case of her MacBook inside the bag. After a moment of weighing up her time allowance, five seconds later she was seated on the sofa with her laptop on her lap and a bar of chocolate in her hand.

It wouldn't hurt to check again before she went out would it? Especially as she might not get chance later? She bit her lip to stop herself from grinning at the thought of finally getting a bit more skin-on-skin contact, and felt her cheeks flush.

Her laptop was equipped with the ADD software, allowing her to monitor anything and everything as if she was sat in the hub. But the real beauty was that whatever she did from home was entirely undetectable and untraceable by the ARC systems – she had installed it herself after all, she knew what trapdoors and firewalls were in place and how to avoid them.

She knew Matt's was exactly the same, having caught him several times unawares before he could dim it down and hide it. She feigned innocence every time and acted as if she hadn't noticed - it was better for them both that way. If Matt knew that Jess knew about his laptop and how it was isolated from the ARC network, then he would definitely guess hers was the same if he didn't already know.

But it was vital nobody found out what she was up to, as she would almost certainly be stopped. Well not almost certainly, _certainly_ certainly. Following the New Dawn fiasco and Connor being all secretive, no one's work was ever confidential within the ARC anymore as Matt - _and_ Becker - kept a much closer eye on everybody. But she could be trusted and she knew it. They would never suspect her, as long as she kept a low profile.

She brought up the data of anomaly readings and scanned the dates. It was too risky to have notifications appear in case she wasn't always alone in her flat, so it was up to her to manually check. But so far, no other anomalies showed other than the ones they'd dealt with that day and all of them had been prehistoric times: Cambrian, Eocene, Triassic, Pleistocene, Permian and Oligocene.

Jess knew the chances of one opening to a time so recent was about a billion to one because as far as she knew, it had never happened. But it didn't stop her from hoping.

She logged off and placed her laptop back into its case before heading back upstairs to get ready. Becker had told her to be ready for seven sharp, and she didn't want to be a second late!

**. . .**

Becker paced up and down the hallway. Then he stopped outside Jess's door and scolded himself. Why the hell was he so nervous? It wasn't as if he'd never taken Jess out before. They'd been together now for six months, and he was more than willing to admit they'd been the best six months of his life, he had no reason to be so jittery.

He ran his hands through his hair. No, he knew exactly why he was nervous. Today was a special day for them both and he wanted to make it even more special and memorable by giving Jess a night to remember. He hadn't discussed it with her, but he felt they were at that point in their relationship, that they were ready.

His only fear was that he'd be unable to stop himself even if Jess wasn't ready. He was afraid he would hurt her and she'd push him away.

But the burning desire he felt for her was almost impossible to keep under wraps and seeing her every day at work, in those colourful outfits and ridiculous heels, was a form of torture. And yet he just couldn't keep away from her. She was his drug and he was hopelessly addicted. He wanted her, he needed her, and tonight he was going to have her – just maybe. He longed for the feel of her soft skin on his; to be able to wrap his arms around her naked body and hold her close, bury his face into her hair.

He smiled as he thought about all she had done for him. She'd brought back the colour to his life he'd thought he'd never see again. After all the loss, Cutter, Danny, _Sarah_… he'd thought he'd never be happy again. But from that very first day she had made him smile, even to the point where he'd teased her back. And since then he had fallen for her more and more each day, despite repeatedly telling himself it couldn't happen.

Although he couldn't ignore that nearly losing her not just once but three times had definitely spurred him on. It had made him realise he couldn't ignore his feelings for her if there was even a chance he could lose her without her even being in the field. Well the first time she actually _had_ been in the field…

He'd been staking out Ethan's flat (a madman who'd turned out to be Patrick Quinn, Danny's long lost brother!) and she had appeared outside of his truck with Chinese. Then they'd fallen asleep but when he'd woken Ethan had been sneering down the camera at him. He'd ordered her to stay and call for back-up while he went inside to arrest Ethan but going in alone had been a mistake. He'd walked straight into a booby trap, stranded with no way of escape. But despite his direct order, Jess had come to save him. He had told her how to diffuse the bomb but it had ultimately been her call when faced with two red wires. It still made his stomach churn thinking about how close they had been to not making it out.

The second time had been the beetle incident. Jess had been manning her usual post at the safety of the ADD, out of the field. But this time the field had come to them as Connor's man-made anomaly let loose a swarm of future beetles. Jess had been bitten and had rapidly gone into anaphylactic shock, as there was no medication available while the ARC was in Lockdown. He'd carried her in his arms the whole time, his feelings showing freely for all to see, and had only let her go to sprint from the panic room to her car to find the epi pen as soon as Lockdown was lifted. That time he'd saved _her_ life with seconds to spare. He'd also made sure the ARC was well stocked, including having an epi pen on his person at all times.

But the third time was possibly the worst. The team had been at Prospero, stopping New Dawn when he'd received a text from Jess telling him there were future predators in the ARC. He'd had absolutely no idea what had happened to her as they made their way back to collect Connor's prototype. She'd been terrified when they found her, in shock and shaking violently, with blood smeared on her face, tears in her eyes and a dying Lester in her lap. He'd had to stroke her cheek and talk slowly in order to get her to listen to him. It had broken his heart to see how vulnerable she looked, and he'd wanted to scoop her up in his arms there and then, but he'd had a job to do.

And even after that scare, it had still taken him nearly another year to finally admit he loved her. The team had teased him relentlessly when they'd walked into the hub hand in hand for the first time.

Abby had given him countless private talking-to's about his feelings since her and Connor's return from the Cretaceous, but when she'd found out she couldn't resist chipping in "About time!" with a smirk. Temple had been his usual annoying self, rambling on about 'the Captain and his Princess', no doubt some stupid geek reference until one glare from 'the Captain' had shut him up.

Emily was pleased that Jess had waited for Becker to offer her his 'courtship' as it was termed in her time, approving Becker's actions with "You are a gentleman, Captain" which even he would admit had made him blush ever so slightly. Matt had just clapped him on the back with a "Congratulations" and a grin.

Bringing himself back to the present he checked his watch and knocked on the door.  
The sight that greeted him took his breath away and he stood on the threshold mouth gaping, utterly speechless.

She was stunning.

Her beautiful auburn hair was loose and the ends were curled but were pulled over her right shoulder exposing her neck and left shoulder, and there was his favourite orange-coloured headband, bold, bright and so typically Jess. The diamante pattern on the neckline of the dress sparkled in the evening light pouring through the windows. The dress itself was navy satin, and clung to her figure showing off her curves then the skirt flared out before finishing a lot nearer her knees than he preferred. But he reminded himself they were going to a restaurant and mentally agreed it was appropriate. His eyes traced down her skinny, gorgeous legs before reaching her feet, which were clad in matching slingback heels.

His eyes then reversed their sightseeing before landing on her own electric blue orbs. She smiled shyly and bit her lip, before he realised he still hadn't said a word.

"Jess…you look…like a goddess." He breathed out, before stepping into her flat and capturing her lips with his own, her arms instantly went around his neck.

When they broke apart Jess asked "Is it too much? Do I need to change the dress? I can change if-"

"No." He cut her off before kissing her again. "You're beautiful Jess."

She beamed. "Shall we get going then?" she asked, picking up her clutch bag from the floor that she'd dropped at the first contact.

He linked his hand with hers as they made their way out of the flat to the truck. Becker let out a breath, he had no idea how he was going to get through their meal and stay sane!

**. . .**

Jess felt like she was in a food coma on the drive back to her flat. The meal had been absolutely delicious and the company incredibly handsome! Jess understood why Becker loved that restaurant; the food was just out of this world!

They'd started off with a starter of mussels and salad, followed by pork steak with a citrus sauce, and then chocolate crepes for dessert. Becker had chosen the wine himself, showing off his wine tasting skills. They had talked about anything and everything in a very comfortable and cosy atmosphere, Jess had loved every minute of it.

But when they reached her flat, adrenaline forced her wide-awake and butterflies were buzzing in her stomach. Should she make the first move or wait until Becker did something?

He opened the truck door for her and helped her down, just like he always did, but Jess's breath caught in her throat as he gently stroked a hand down her cheek and then passionately kissed her.

And that was it. Both of them lost control simultaneously and Jess lost all sense of time and reality. She had no idea how they ended up on her couch, her dress discarded on the floor nearby, all she could think about was the gorgeous man on top of her kissing her senseless. The man she was deeply in love with. The man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The man who was wearing way too many clothes for her liking!

Captain Hilary Becker. He was finally hers. Giggling, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck as he pulled them up and rushed them to the bedroom.

Much later, they fell asleep perfectly content in each other's arms.

**. . .**

**To be continued**


	3. Distracted

**CHAPTER 2**

**Distracted**

* * *

Becker was in the armoury attempting to catch up on paperwork when the alarms blared. Attempting really meaning he hadn't been doing anything other than trying and failing to push all thoughts of the woman he'd spent the previous night with out of his mind. The reminder of an anomaly only served to keep them firm in his head as he picked himself up and belted to the hub, towards her.

Sprinting over to the ADD, he smiled as he took in the sight of Jess in all her glory. Her nimble fingers flying furiously over the keyboards, her auburn hair shining scarlet in the glow of the lights, her face slightly creased in concentration. She was wearing a red lace top tucked smartly into a fitted navy polka-dot skirt that had slid cheekily up her thighs in her seated position. On her feet were yellow platform heels that matched the thin belt around her waist. He placed one arm over the back of her chair and looked at the screens.

Sensing his presence, she looked up at him with a brilliant smile, his favourite smile, before quickly switching back to her work.

"Anomaly in Downham near Bromley, hacking CCTV feeds now to check for any incursions. Dating calculator currently scanning."

Becker handed out black boxes to the team before turning back to Jess. He leant forward to whisper in her ear. "I have not been able to get last night out of my head. Tonight, you are coming home with me." He grinned as he saw her cheeks flush.

"Becker, come on!" Abby shouted.

His kissed her temple before walking away. "See you later!" he called back to her.

Jess turned in her chair. "Stay warm!"

He laughed as he headed out with the rest of the team.

**. . .  
**

"_Head straight ahead then right at the end."_

Becker caught sight of two No Entry signs framing the narrow road ahead and frowned. "We can't go that way Jess, it's a one-way street."

"_Oh god sorry! I'll try another way."_

Now he was getting worried. Something was wrong. "Jess, is everything okay?"

It wasn't like Jess to miss out anything. She hadn't been this messy since the few weeks after her cousin's death nearly three months ago. Becker knew she still blamed herself, despite the numerous times he had tried to convince her otherwise. But after that disastrous fortnight she had quickly gotten back to her usual bubbly self. So what had got her so worked up again?

"_Yeah, fine. Just give me a second."_

"Jess, we don't have a second." Matt complained. Becker shot the team leader a glare. The Irishman could be incredibly insensitive sometimes!

"Matt, that's not helping." Abby sighed.

"Yeah everyone has their bad days. Extremely rare for Jess, but even the most perfect of perfectionists get up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes." Becker saw him smile goofily and smirked.

Jess sniffed, the hint of a smile in her voice. _"Thanks Connor."_

"Sorry Jess. Let's just get this dealt with, yeah?" Matt apologised.

"_Okay, sorry. Right, I'm tracking your black boxes on the map. Becker, loop back around at the roundabout then head up the one-way street – the right way. Then take the first left. The anomaly is down a side alley to the right approximately ten feet after you turn." _She sounded flustered, but Becker didn't want to stress her out any more. He would question her later.

She'd been utterly heartbroken at the news of Hannah's death, as she was like a sister to her. But the part that had shaken her to the core was the fact that it had happened under her watch, while Jess had been at the ADD. Hannah had been killed by an incursion during an anomaly alert last November and Jess had taken the responsibility heavily.

The team had desperately tried to comfort her but all she would come back with was a list of things she should have done instead. It had broken his heart seeing how vulnerable and insecure she had been. Lester had forced her to stay home for a week but she'd refused. But over the past few months she'd been getting better - not fully healed and he figured she might never be - but definitely better.

Until now. Was it a relapse?

He steered the truck in the directions she'd told him, but as they rounded the corner they were met by a surprise. Becker immediately brought the truck to a halt.

"Woah!"

_"What? What's happening?" _Jess's frantic voice asked over the comms.

"We've got an incursion Jess. Think of a larger Rex but with a fan on it's back and no wings." He replied.

"Dimetrodons. Early Permian." Connor said.

_"What?! Oh god I've been locked out, it's just showing a time loop!"_

"Jess, keep trying. We'll keep you updated." Becker reassured her, though his insides were churning as he nodded his head. Whatever was bothering her was beginning to cost them.

**. . .**

Back at the hub, Jess was desperately trying to regain control of the CCTV feeds. She was never this careless, she always managed to steer around the firewalls so the ARC systems would be undetected. But her mind hadn't been focused and she'd missed a step.

"Dammit!" She buried her head in her hands in frustration.

"Everything alright Jess?" Lester's voice behind her caused her to jump.

"No! First I got the directions wrong, then I lost the CCTV meaning I misinformed them of an incursion-"

"Jess-"

"It's been put on a loop because I got caught hacking into it! I'm useless to them blind!"

"Jess-"

"All I can do is track their black boxes but that's no good! I don't know what to do!"

"PARKER!"

She took a deep breath, startled at his raised voice and hung her head.

An internal war was being fought inside her head. Her heart had been hammering as the calculator scanned for a date, and when she could find no incursion on the CCTV or through any internet reports or social media sites she'd been certain it must have been recent.

Then the battle had begun. Was it the right thing to do after all? What if the anomaly closed before she could get to it? Could she get away with leaving during her shift?

So many thoughts and questions whirled around battling for dominance that her concentration had not been on her work and the team had noticed.

Which would mean an interrogation from Becker.

As much as she loved him, she couldn't handle being constantly treated with kid gloves. She knew he was trying to help her but repeatedly asking her if she was okay was beginning to wear her thin.

And then the dating calculator had brought up Permian, relaxing her only slightly as she then berated herself for panicking and making such silly mistakes. What if the incursion had been something more lethal, like Future Predators? What would have happened to the team because she hadn't been able to warn them? She shuddered before telling herself firmly that nothing of the sort had happened. Either way, it was a reality check. She needed to sort herself out and be more alert and focused.

Or everything would fall apart.

**. . .  
**

"Hey."

At the sound of Becker's voice, Jess turned around in her chair and was immediately pulled into his arms. She snuggled into his warmth, the tension melting from her body instantly. He kissed her head before leaning his chin on it and speaking softly.

"So are you going to tell me what's gotten you so upset?"

She snapped.

"Becker, I'M FINE!" She yelled pulling away from him, angry tears welling up in her eyes. "Stop asking me that! I know I haven't been completely myself recently but I'm getting back on track. I'm fine just stop it!"

She threw her arms up, slicing them horizontally through the air in a pleading gesture for silence. Then she broke down in loud sobs, covering her face with her hands. Becker caught her before she could sink to the floor and enveloped her in an embrace.

"Hey, it's okay. Even you are allowed one bad day every so often. Are we still on for tonight?"

Jess nodded instantly. "I'm so sorry."

He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. "Jess, don't ever apologise to me for anything okay?" He asked, before slowly closing the distance between them and kissing her. All her worries and anxieties vanished.

"I brought you a surprise." He grinned, pulling back to retrieve something from inside his tac vest.

Jess squealed, recognising the shiny rectangular objects, her mood instantly brightened.

"Two?" she asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow at him.

"One is mine!" he teased, kissing her again.

"Please at least attempt to refrain from this lovey-dovey nonsense, or I'll be forced to bring in a anti-fraternization policy!" Lester shouted at them. "Now away with you before someone important sees."

Jess blushed whilst Becker chuckled as they made their way to the locker room.

**. . .  
**

Jess took a lot longer than was necessary to pack an overnight bag.

Truth be told it wasn't just an overnight bag. Inside were essentials that had been packed for weeks: money, clothes, coats, shoes, and toiletries, even an extension lead for her chargers. She had been prepared from the week following her birthday. The clothes and shoes were interchangeable as she would wear them to work, wash them and place them back inside in a kind of rotation, and the chargers had been removed frequently but always placed back in the bag after use.

The reason it had taken her so long was because she had taken everything out, checked and double-checked the contents before placing them back, satisfied it was all there.

The latest addition was a portable anomaly detector, stolen from Connor's lab for use in an emergency. Long since upgraded from the limited range after its creation, it had been installed with ADD software now capable of scanning at a worldwide range.

"Are you ready? Jess?" he voice shouted.

"In the bedroom." She called back.

Becker had a spare key to her flat, for both security and personal use, and she in turn had one of his. Smiling she quickly zipped up her case, grabbed her handbag and headed downstairs meeting Becker halfway.

"Wow, packed enough?" he teased, one eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. She couldn't help but grin; she adored him when he did that.

"Yepp! Now let's go!" she beamed.

As soon as they got to his flat, Jess headed straight for the bedroom to deposit her bags. When she arrived back in the kitchen, Becker was busying around gathering ingredients and bowls and pans for dinner. She stood against the doorframe admiring the view. The way his muscles flexed whenever he reached up into a cupboard, the way his hair was beginning to stand up where he'd messily ran a hand through it, the way he would glance over at her every so often and grin…

"Wanna help me?" he asked, bringing Jess out of her thoughts.

"Sure! Mmm smells amazing!"

He was stirring a saucepan on the hob, and as she got closer she peered in and saw a few veggies frying away. She took his place and began stirring as he continued chopping up more ingredients.

"Are you making a curry?"

He moved over, wrapping his arms around her waist squeezing slightly and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Homemade Korma. Takeaways get boring." He said flatly and Jess turned to glare at him but he caught her lips and kissed her deeply. He then let go of her to grab the rest of the chopped vegetables before tipping them into the pan and pouring a jug of water in after. "Go and make yourself at home in the lounge, put a fashion programme on or something. I'll call you when it's ready."

"You sure you don't want any more help?" she pouted teasingly. She loved the feeling of his muscles against her back and his warm arms around her.

"Hardly a date if we both make dinner together is it? Go!" he grinned, waving his hand at her in a shooing action.

She grabbed her laptop from the bedroom first before sitting on his cream leather sofa and switching on the TV. His flat was a lot more homely than she had expected the first time she'd come over. She'd expected a dull scheme of blacks and whites, a stark contrast to her own multi-coloured flat. However he seemed fond of at least a bit of colour, subtle but still there.

The kitchen was a pale lemon with smart dark granite counters and cream cupboards, with a central island serving as the eating space. The lounge area had pale blue walls and a lusciously soft chocolate carpet that Jess delighted in sinking her feet into. The cream three-seater leather sofa was adorned with two blue furry cushions and a brown throw. It may not have been what she'd expected, but she felt it really suited Becker.

The TV was playing Gok's Fashion Fix as Jess logged on and plugged her charger into the wall. It was a rerun of Series 2 and the girl, Sam, was a sports therapist from Lincoln. She watched for a few minutes before turning back to her laptop and briefly scanning her social media sites.

She then checked the doorway to make sure Becker wasn't coming through and saw him weighing out some rice. She brought up the ADD programme and then the anomaly data. Since they'd left the ARC that evening there had been two, one had already closed but the other one was still active.

Jess froze, her breath catching in her throat as she looked at the date reading of the current open anomaly.

2009.

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_**A/N: To those of you who have read and reviewed so far, thank you so much it means a lot to me! Especially my regulars, you know who you are!**_

_**And to those who have read my latest one-shot 'Stepping Down', thank you also! A few of you have asked me to write a follow-up fic, which I can't promise immediate commitment to, but I will definitely consider it once this one is finished. I'm flattered you like my work so much!  
If any of you have any ideas of how I could make a follow-up work please PM me, I'd love to read them! **_

_**If any of you want a gander at a current Next Gen fic, check out **_**Swmoney11**_**'s Next Generation series – Episode 3 is currently being posted! (Different characters feature understandably, with two writers having different thought processes, but please have a look!) Thanks for your support **_**Swmoney11**_** :D  
**_


	4. Into Action

_**[A/N: I wanted to keep on top of my update schedule by posting one chapter every week, so here's number four! Another shorty I'm afraid but enjoy!]**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

**Into Action**

* * *

Jess stared wide-eyed at the screen in front of her. There was no way it could be an error, the calculator technology developed by Connor was too advanced, too precise.

That meant it was real, honest-to-God real.

Her mind began to work in overdrive. She couldn't leave now…Becker wouldn't let her, well he would but he'd ask too many questions. She didn't _want_ to leave now; it was their date night. Last night had been as well but now they had passed another milestone in their relationship, Jess was willing to let go of the schedule if it meant she could spend more time with Becker without anymore worrying.

So it would have to be later tonight, after hours.

She couldn't risk any later in case it unexpectedly closed. She had no idea how long it would last, it might even close before she got there. Jess did a quick estimation in her head. Going in the night would leave her a big enough window to return before morning, before she was missed.

A warm feeling of determination spread through her, one that she hadn't felt since Hannah's funeral, the day she'd realised what she had to do.  
And now it was the day to put her plan into action.

"Jess." Becker's voice brought her back to the present and she turned to find him hanging on the doorframe. "It's ready."

She closed down her laptop before following him into the kitchen and grinned widely at the sight. He'd set the table space of the island in the traditional date layout (two places opposite each other) with three candles in the middle. Even the lights were slightly dimmed to create an intimate atmosphere and there was classical music echoing quietly from a stereo near the sink. She sighed contentedly – Becker could be so romantic!

His homemade curry was divine and she ate slowly in order to savour every bite whilst they talked. Becker had learned his lesson from earlier and was deliberately avoiding talking about her mood and she was surprised at how disappointed she felt. It seemed she actually enjoyed him worrying about her, and simply put it down to her bad day. He'd only been trying to show his love for her and she'd just pushed him away. She needed to apologise.

"I'm sorry." She blurted out, before realising she'd just cut him off midsentence. "About snapping at you earlier."

He stared at her blankly for a couple of seconds. "Jess it's okay. I'm the one who should be apologising. I should have realised that asking you would have angered and stressed you further, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise to me for anything." She replied, stealing his words from earlier at the ARC before flashing him a bright smile. He grinned in return.

"I meant what I said." He reached for her hand and covered it with his. She entwined their fingers. "But lets just forget about that now, and focus on us and tonight."

Jess chewed her bottom lip, half in guilt, half in excitement, allowing a smile to break through.

"So what have you got planned Captain?" she whispered seductively.

"That, Jessica, is for you to find out." He replied, his voice so irresistible husky she almost moaned aloud, but instead she giggled. She felt so giddy and the room had suddenly become so hot, and it wasn't down to the wine!

She jumped out of her seat and began to clear the table, ducking her head so Becker would miss the heat evident in her cheeks. But either she wasn't quick enough or he guessed as he sneaked up behind her and grabbed her hips, making her squeal and drop the plates she was holding. They fell to the floor with a loud clatter but didn't break.

Jess turned around to playfully hit him but Becker lifted her up onto the counter and began to kiss her passionately. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist and her hands flew into his hair pulling him closer.

"God, I love you Jess." He moaned against her lips.

She giggled in the back of her throat. "I love you too Hil."

Becker somehow managed to steer them into the lounge without once breaking the kiss. He practically threw her onto the sofa before Jess felt her head hit something hard.

"Ow!" she gasped, breaking the kiss as she tried to move away. Becker let go immediately, breathing heavily as he fished the offending object from underneath her – her MacBook.

"Shit, sorry Jess!"

"Stupid technology!" she cursed, rubbing her head.

"How about we watch a movie and have dessert, yeah?"

She nodded, disappointed their fun had been cut short. But the moment had gone and she quite fancied simply snuggling up close to him. If she was lucky, she might get him to take off his shirt!

**. . .**

Jess lay awake later that night staring at the digital clock on the nightstand. Her body should have been exhausted from their bedtime activity. After the chocolate soufflé and Love Actually they'd picked up from where they'd left off when Jess hit her head. But once she'd heard Becker's breathing settle and his arms slacken slightly around her telling Jess he was asleep, adrenaline began to pump through her veins.

She needed to leave.

But she was so heavenly entangled in Becker's arms she didn't want to move for the rest of her life.

But if she didn't leave now, she never would, and she wouldn't forgive herself for chickening out if the anomaly closed before she could carry out her plan.

Moving ever so slowly so as not to disturb her sleeping boyfriend, Jess crept out of the bed and headed out to the lounge to retrieve her laptop which was still on the floor where Becker had discarded it earlier.  
Becker's flat was an actual flat, laid out on just the one floor, about half the size of Jess's. Right now it meant she had to be especially silent so as to not risk waking him next door.

She quickly checked the status of the 2009 anomaly – still open. That spurred her on incredibly quickly as soon she was dressed, packed and heading out the door. She considered writing a note, but promised herself she'd be back before morning, before he noticed she'd left.

She took a few seconds contemplating taking his truck, but decided against it as it would give her away. Instead, she reached under the tarpaulin of the flatbed and grabbed a locking device before walking down the road.

Jess quickly flagged down a cab before realising she didn't actually know the location. She scolded herself. She'd left in such a hurry she hadn't bothered to check. She quickly pulled out Connor's anomaly detector and told the taxi driver where she wanted to be: Regent's Park.

Her first job was to knock out the CCTV in that area, put it on a time loop so anyone checking wouldn't be suspicious, just long enough for her to slip through unnoticed. She accessed the ADD software on her laptop and set to work. It didn't take long.

She paid the taxi driver and briefly scanned the area; there was no sight of any ARC vehicles around. Dragging her case behind her she walked calmly but quickly towards the anomaly site.

The sight of it took her breath away, making her stop in her tracks. She'd never seen an anomaly up close and in the flesh before. It was beautiful, even if it was locked. The way the crystal-like shards clung together reminded her strangely of a hedgehog curled up protectively.

She eyed the locking device on the ground in front of it keeping it secure. She looked around again nervously; surely they wouldn't dare leave it unguarded? But if there were any ARC soldiers around, they would have spotted her by now. But she didn't give herself time to come up with any suggestions.

She'd seen Connor work the device so many times she knew exactly how to work it. She stepped forwards and pressed the right keys on the pad before stepping back as the anomaly sprung open, bathing her in a golden glow. It was even more beautiful now, fully spread out and shining brightly in the depth of the night. The shards reflected off the dark grass much like the shimmying effect in a swimming pool when light reflects off the water.

She looked around one more time.  
Satisfied there was no threat of discovery, Jess took the remaining distance at a run, and disappeared.

**. . .**

**To be continued.**


	5. Searching

_**[A/N: This chapter contains a generous helping of angsty Becker. Feel free to send him some virtual hugs!]**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

**Searching**

* * *

Becker woke up feeling distinctly cold. Light was pouring in through the bedroom window, which had apparently been left uncovered all night. He squinted and blinked rapidly allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden light of day. He rolled over, expecting to see the beautiful face of his sleeping girlfriend and frowned when both his arms and eyes met only bedsheets.

Well that explained why he felt so cold.

He sat bolt upright and checked the clock on Jess's side of the bed. 6:47am. He let out a breath as he flopped back down onto the mattress. This was Jess; she was already up and dressed, no doubt making breakfast in the kitchen.

He smiled to himself as he pulled on a pair of black jogging bottoms, his mind filling with images of Jess fussing around, her immaculate hair whipping as she moved and her dainty feet clad in ridiculously fluffy slippers.

But as he wondered into the kitchen he frowned, as there was no sign she had even been in there, let alone currently busy making breakfast. The plates from last night still lay on the floor where Jess had dropped them. In fact, the table was still set exactly how they'd left it.

Becker stood stock still, straining his ears for any sign of movement. There was no running of the shower coming from the bathroom, no noise from the lounge indicating the TV was on.

So where was she?

"Jess?" He began a spot check of his flat, checking every room and calling her name over and over again.

When he arrived back in his bedroom he sat down and buried his head in his hands, thinking. Then did a double take as he stared absently around the room.  
All of Jess's stuff, her bags and her clothes, were all gone.

He grabbed his mobile from the nightstand and dialled hers.  
Dead.

Panic rising through him, Becker quickly rechecked the flat, looking for anything of Jess's left behind. But there was nothing. She'd vanished along with everything of hers in the flat.

She loved him didn't she? She'd said so herself last night. So why would she just leave in the middle of the night?

Becker's military training kicked in and his mind worked over several different scenarios. One: Kidnap. But all of her stuff was gone, every tiny detail from her nail varnish on the kitchen windowsill and her chargers in the living room to her bright pink toothbrush.

If someone had taken her: 1) Captain Becker, whose distinguished military record included the Sword of Honour and Queen's Medal at Sandhurst and Special Operations, would have heard them, 2) There would be signs of a struggle, and there was absolutely nothing out of place, not even a chair kicked over.  
And 3) they wouldn't bother with the small details – everything that belonged to Jess in his flat had vanished.

Scenario two: He'd somehow dreamt the entire thing and Jess wasn't yet his girlfriend. Though that thought was dismissed as soon as it appeared in his head.

Scenario three: Jess had left of her own accord.

This was the most likely given the overwhelming evidence but it left a sharp pain in his chest. Had he hurt her? Was she that unhappy with him? She'd snapped at him in the hub yesterday but had apologised immediately afterwards…

Becker jumped up and kicked the nearest bedpost in frustration and cursed. He'd moved too fast for her, he knew it! And instead of telling him, she'd just left to avoid an awkward confrontation. That left a despairing feeling gnawing at his insides.

He loved her so much; hurting her was the last thing he would ever do.  
He needed to find her. First stop being her own flat.

Throwing on his ARC uniform as fast as he could, he grabbed his truck keys and drove over to her flat. He knew he'd broken every speed limit but he honestly didn't care. Lester could shove any speeding tickets up his bureaucratic backside.

He parked roughly outside and frantically unlocked the door before bursting in. "Jess? Jess are you here?"

Once again he was only met with silence. Scanning the room he realised there was nothing to tell him she'd come back here. Growling in frustration he pulled out his mobile.

"Pick up, come on!"

_"Becker?"_ A sleepy voice sounded over the receiver.

"Abby, is Jess with you?"

"_What? No, didn't she stay at yours last night?"_

"I woke up and she was gone. All of her stuff has gone too. I can't find her." His voice broke on the last sentence and he coughed in an attempt to cover it up.

"_We'll be at the ARC in half an hour." _The zoologist assured him before hanging up.

Becker locked the flat and headed back outside. After briefly surveying the small car park he spotted Jess's Mini Cooper at the back. Where the hell was she?

**. . .**

"I'm sorry, so let me get this straight. Jess went home with Captain Becker last night, stayed over but by this morning had disappeared into thin air? Well the minister _IS_ going to be impressed, first magical doorways in time and now magically vanishing employees!" Lester drawled.

Becker shook his head. "This is serious, Sir."

"Connor, _I_ seriously hope this is one of your practical jokes, the paperwork is too much for me to handle. You've had your fun but for God's sake please return Miss Parker immediately!"

Temple looked affronted. "What makes you think it was me?"

"So no one has seen Jess since last night?" Lester asked the team, they all shook their heads.

"We should send out a search party." Matt suggested. "Connor, stay here and take charge of the ADD."

"Is there anywhere else she would have gone?" Emily asked. "You've checked places of sentimental value to her nearby, her flat, Abby and Connor's, the ARC, but what about family?" Upon receiving blank looks from the team she continued. "Her cousin died several months ago didn't she, who she was very close to? Well what if she's gone to see her remaining family? She had a bad day yesterday, maybe she's seeking family comfort away from the stresses of her job."

"Good thinking Emily. Becker, you've been to her family's house right?" the team leader asked.

But Becker wasn't convinced. "Yeah, it's up near Cambridge. But her car is still at her flat. Why would she have gone all that way in the middle of the night without her car?"

"It's the only place we have left to search Becker." Matt shot back through gritted teeth. "Right I'll go with Becker, Connor check all CCTV footage around the places we've searched. Becker said her mobile was dead so I doubt we'll find her that way. Emily and Abby, stay here in case of any anomaly alerts. Abby, you're in charge of Renner's team."

They all nodded at his instructions, Becker somewhat reluctantly. None of this added up and he was determined to find out why. At least even if Jess wasn't in Cherry Hinton they could ask her mum for any possible information.

"Well don't just stand there, you've got a missing Field-Coordinator to locate! Now chop chop!" Lester dismissed them.

On the way to the car park Becker had a thought. "Matt, why don't we just phone ahead first and check whether or not she's there, rather than wasting our time travelling all the way up. I can ask Angela if she has any ideas of where she might have gone."

Matt nodded. "You're right Becker, sorry I didn't think about that. The team leader sighed, his next sentence more of a statement than a question. "You really don't think she's there do you."

The Head of Security shook his head. "All of this just doesn't add up." Then he was sprinting off to the hub, putting a finger to his comm. "Connor, bring up the contact details of Angela Parker. I'm on my way."

**. . .**

Phoning Jess's mum turned out to be a bad idea. Unable to comfort her in person Becker struggled to get any information out of the woman, as she was too busy panicking hysterically about her missing daughter. The phone was eventually passed to Debby Bails, who was a lot calmer and allowed Becker to reassure her he'd do everything in his power to find Jess.

Having no other obvious places to search, it was up to Connor to trawl through hours of CCTV footage in the hope of finding some clue.

In between the anomaly alerts.

Time was not in their favour. In just two hours five anomalies occurred around the London area, keeping the core team and three back up teams on their toes. Connor was frustrating to high hell, being nowhere near as flawless as Jess at coordinating. He'd taken over after having decided it wasn't fair to call Kyle Thompson in, the relief coordinator having just returned home after his nightshift, so Becker found himself pining all morning to hear his favourite voice in his ear.

Once the teams returned and began writing up their reports, Becker had Connor rechecking the CCTV. So far there was absolutely nothing and Becker was baffled. The only explanation he could think of was that it had been tampered with, meaning someone out there knew what the team would do once they discovered Jess was missing.

That realisation hurt. That someone had seemingly been out to deliberately harm Jess and to ensure she wouldn't be found. Becker felt so helpless, for the first time since Danny's team had disappeared into the past after Helen. Since Sarah had died.

Was Jess dead?

He couldn't quite comprehend that that was possibly their only option left. He sprinted from the hub to violently empty his stomach in the nearest toilet before heading to the armoury. Once there he sank down on a bench and didn't bother to stop the tears flowing from his eyes.

Jess, his precious brilliant Jess, with her bright bold outfits and outrageous shoe collection. Jess, with her contagious bubbly and cheery disposition, that couldn't fail to make even the saddest person in the world smile. Jess, who he had seriously underestimated when they first met. He couldn't supress a grin as he thought back to that day.

_Becker stepped out of the elevator doors into the new hub. Glancing at his watch to see if he was early, he discovered he was exactly on time._

"_Captain Becker, welcome back to the ARC! Well, the new ARC. You've no idea how good it is to finally have some company here." He looked up and found his eyes assaulted by a bright flash of lime green, which was a young woman in front of him. A very young and very pretty woman. Studying her, he deduced she was no older than twenty years old. He gulped._

"_I'm supposed to report to Parker…?" He couldn't help but look at her incredulously, surely just Lester's PA. Brilliant._

"_Jess Parker, at your service." She said brightly, offering him her hand. _

_Wow. _

_He politely shook her hand. "You're…You're the F-Field Coordinator?" he stammered, still looking her up and down in disbelief before focusing on her feet. The height of those bright purple shoes was surely illegal…_

"_Yep. Sorry, not usually this crazy I promise. Well, not unpleasantly crazy, only I've been on my own here for the last two weeks. Just me and the creatures. I've been going through all the mission reports." She rambled, blushing slightly. Becker wanted to smile but forced it back behind his military mask._

"_Fun." He replied dryly._

"_No, they're good. Really. The best part is I already feel like I know you. And Abby and Connor and Danny…" She trailed off._

_Ouch._

_He looked away from her so as not to see the obviously guilty look on her face._

_She however broke the awkward silence. "Um, if you wanna come through I'll get you set up."_

_He let out a breath before following her. This was going to be a long morning!_

* * *

Becker laughed out loud as he remembered his initial impression of her: young, naïve and somewhat annoying. But then she'd teased him about Matt and he found himself instantly warming to her.

* * *

"_Pretty impressive CV."_

"_Hmm."_

"_What with all the stuff this guy's done you'd think he'd be old and crusty, but he's not. He's young…and fit too."_

_Becker snorted. Young, naïve and into every military man she laid eyes on. Marvellous._

"_What?" she asked._

"_Nothing, nothing. Is he the only candidate?" he asked slowly, holding the file up._

"_Got to the bit about Everest?" She asked, in a slightly skeptic tone as if she herself didn't fully believe what was written. He looked at her thoughtfully, maybe she wasn't as naïve as he first thought. _

_He flicked idly through the file. "The way some people feel the need to boast about things."_

"_Insecure much." Jess muttered before turning on her heel and walking towards the ADD. He followed her._

"_Excuse me?" he demanded, offended at her words._

"_No it's nothing but…If you're gonna put the brakes on this guy for being too good, that would be pretty lame." She sat down on the padded chair but half turned it so she was level sideways with him._

"_Ermm, no one's putting the brakes on anyone!" he replied defensively._

"_I mean he's ex-military, decorated for heroism, he's an __**expert **__on animal behaviour and he's got countless glowing references. He's perfect!"_

_Becker sighed, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. "I __**merely**__ meant whether he was the only candidate!"_

"_Anyone would think you didn't want your boss to be better than you are." She stated quickly, with a perfectly innocent smile on her face._

_He stared at her for a few seconds, trying to work out whether or not she was joking before her smile cracked and grew wider._

"_Ahh. Oh I see you're making fun of me." He said lightly and she chuckled in response. He couldn't help but grin. Despite how hard he'd tried to keep it in, he actually smiled._

"_Totally! Just checking to see if you smile and you do! Which so far means __**way**__ better company than a mammoth."_

_He couldn't help but laugh at that. Then decided he needed to pay her back._

"_Oh you've errm, you've got a little something." He whispered, wagging his finger at his cheek to indicate where she needed to look before walking away. "It's disgusting."_

* * *

"Err, Becker?" The sound of Temple's voice in his ear brought him back to the present and he quickly wiped his eyes.

"Connor." he acknowledged.

"I think you'd better see this." There was a nervous tone to his voice, meaning Becker wasn't going to like what the scientist told him.

He sighed. "What it is Connor?"

A moment's silence. "It's Jess."

Becker was on his feet in a heartbeat sprinting towards the hub. The rest of the team were already gathered around the ADD, looking at some CCTV footage Connor had found.

"I'm sorry mate." Matt said quietly.

Becker watched. The screen showed a locked anomaly, seemingly in a park, nothing out of the ordinary. But as the time in the bottom left of the screen continued forward, all of a sudden the picture cut to one of an open anomaly. It was exactly the same one in exactly the same place except it was open and not locked, the CCTV had definitely been interfered with.

But that wasn't all. A figure ran straight through the open anomaly which then locked itself a few seconds afterwards, resembling the original footage. A figure with auburn hair, a light beige coat and unmistakably bright yellow heels.

"Jess." He croaked.

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_**[A/N: No, there is absolutely no way I sat and studied the second webisode to get the flashback right... hehe! ;)  
So Jess is in quite a lot of trouble with the team, they – especially Becker – are going to be so mad when she gets back… Or are they?]**_

_**Unfortunately I won't be able to update for a few weeks now as I'm going on an incredibly exciting environmental work placement that has been offered to me. I'm staying away meaning I'll have no internet access - DISASTER! But I'll have this back on track as soon as I get back, promise! That being said, if I am happy with the next chapter within the next few days (it is fully written, just currently at the editing stage) then I shall post it :)**_


	6. Through The Anomaly

_**[A/N: So I said I'd update again before I go away if I was happy… Admittedly I wasn't expecting it to be this soon but hey, let me know what you think!]**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

**Through The Anomaly**

* * *

Jess squinted as she was suddenly met by daylight. She immediately fished the locking device out of her bag and relocked the anomaly. Looking around in an attempt to get her bearings she found herself in a narrow passageway, obviously inside somewhere, a public building given the sudden noise of chatter and movement. Coming out of the passage she found herself in the middle of a busy shopping centre.

Jess headed straight for a nearby information desk to grab a map.

Thetford.

She was in Thetford, a good hour away from her destination.

_Still, could have been worse_, she thought. _Much worse._

She approached the information desk and was met with a taut looking woman in a red uniform who was clearly under the impression Jess didn't quite belong there given her raised eyebrows. But Jess shrugged it off as she asked "Excuse me, where's the nearest taxi station please?"

"Where is your destination?"

"Cambridge Airport." Jess shot back with ease, adding a smile. It made perfect sense given her appearance.

The rather cold woman turned to a younger blonde male colleague next to her and spoke in a tone remarkably similar to Lester's. "Travis, please escort this young lady outside?"

"Yes Ma'am." he replied in a rather mocking voice.

Dragging her vibrant turquoise floral print case behind her Jess attempted to blend in as she followed the man to the exit. The taxi station was situated right outside the doors, taking priority over the massive car park.

"Oh thanks, I can take it from here!" Jess told him brightly.

She opened one of the black Mercedes Benz Vito taxi doors and pushed in her bags before clambering in after.

"Where to, love?" The middle-aged man inquired. He was almost bald, the remnants of his hair a dark grey. He was wearing slacks and a dark green pullover, which Jess couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at. Or maybe it was the lingering smell of cheese puffs...

"Cambridge please if you don't mind."

"It'll cost you extra love, congestion charges and all that."

"I have money." She assured him confidently. "Just drop me off in the centre, I'm meeting someone."

"Ahh a little romantic getaway, eh?" He asked, eying her case in the rear-view as he pulled away.

"Oh. No, nothing of the sort. I have business in Glasgow." She replied briskly as she pulled her makeup out of her bag and freshened up, for the sake of having something to do to stop herself feeling guilty. She'd surprised herself at how easy it had been to lie.

It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know what date it was - the exact date.

"What day is it today?" She asked lively, concentrating on her reflection in the compact mirror.

The driver gave her a funny look in the rear-view but still compiled. "Thursday 19th Feb sweetheart. 2009. Had a bit too much last night eh?"

"Just checking I have the right day!" She replied cheerfully, touching up her lipstick. "It would be slightly embarrassing to turn up for a business meeting a week early."

February 19th, so she'd moved four years and a few days back from the present. Not to mention a few hours…

That meant Hannah had recently been told about her successful application for an internship in America, and Jess was yet to be told about the ARC. She smiled; the anomaly couldn't have led to a better time!

Jess put her makeup away, pulled out her tablet and began bullet-pointing notes of information she could remember about this particular time:

* * *

- the year she was told about the ARC and signed the Official Secrets Act

- the year she graduated and began her Masters

- Hannah's 21st birthday

- the year Hannah went to America

- the year Becker joined the ARC

- the year Professor Cutter died

- the year Abby, Connor and Danny Quinn disappeared

- the year Sarah Page died

* * *

Shit.

Jess stopped writing and stared at the last three bullet points. How could that not have occurred to her before?! If it was February that meant none of them had even occurred yet. Becker hadn't even joined the ARC!

She could change everything...

_Woah no! _She thought, mentally shaking herself.

She couldn't. It wasn't right. If she'd learned anything from working at the ARC it was that time was precious and shouldn't be meddled with. Look at the Claudia Brown/Jenny Lewis event; an event which was utterly unexplainable other than it happened whilst Cutter was the other side of an anomaly. If it was even true...

No. She had a job to do.  
A very personal job that wouldn't even have been possible if it weren't for any of the above events. If nothing had happened, the original team would still be intact and there would be no reason for her to be brought in, no reason for Matt to find his way in, no way for New Dawn to be stopped. She couldn't mess with that; she loved what she did, _who she worked with_, too much.

Was it selfish? Very much so. But Jess was determined not to mess.

Besides, she was on a time schedule. There was no time to get to London. She glanced at her watch, she'd been gone just over an hour. She needed to press on as quickly as possible so she could return.

. . .

Once she was left in the center of Cambridge Jess headed straight for an Internet cafe she knew existed but had never used. She couldn't risk going anywhere else in case she was spotted or recognised by someone. As tempting as it was to head straight to her favourite teashop and order a vanilla coffee and a cream scone, she knew there was every chance she'd bump into Hannah or even her self. That would be too weird...and unacceptable.

She had to discipline herself, nothing like that had happened in her past, so it wasn't going to happen now.

She grabbed a frothy coffee, bought an hours credit and sat down on a dark leather sofa next to the front window. People spotting had always interested Jess, especially the part where she got to dream up their life stories.

She'd decided to use one of the café's machines instead of her own laptop to ensure her files wouldn't be traced. Being a child prodigy studying Computer Science at Cambridge University, Jess was certain her younger self would attempt to hack and pinpoint a location of source. And it would sure confuse the hell out of her if it turned out to be her own laptop. However, now Jess was several years older and had a_ lot_ more hacking and protection experience under her belt, she was confident she could beat it.

She set to work, hacking her own emails and planting anonymous encrypted messages that only herself could understand. To anyone else reading them, the lines of code would look like Junk or Spam, but to seventeen year old Jess Parker they would resemble hidden inside messages. Clues. It would be too rude and forthright to make them appear from Hannah or Tom. She needed to be subtle. And intimidating.

She could have firewalled them heavily with her level of clearance, but such high status didn't exist, as at this point in time she didn't even know the ARC existed. Using such highly classified codes would no doubt have her picked up by the ADD back at the old, well current in 2009, ARC. A security breach would definitely spell disaster. So no, she stuck to encrypted files of codes instead.

After planting them in strategic positions across her old inbox, she leant back and let out a long breath, taking a good long sip of the hot and satisfying beverage as she continued her people spotting.

And nearly choked as she caught sight of the very pair who were the subject of her work.

Hannah Bails and Tom Riley walked past, coffees in hand, talking animatedly. Hannah's long blonde hair was loose, partially covered by her purple woolly hat. She was wearing a white lace skater dress - which was frankly inappropriate for the current chilled climate - a long sleeved navy denim jacket with a purple scarf around her neck and ankle length brown heeled boots. Tom was in red jeans, a black t-shirt with a printed batman logo and a black bomber jacket.

Jess quickly looked away as they passed her. But stared after them as they walked on. They looked happy. She smiled sadly, it was Tom's 21st birthday in a week after all…

So Tom hadn't been lying about how the pair of them had secretly renewed their friendship. Deep down she'd known it was true but she had kept on denying it as she had no evidence. Until now.

Jess raked through the files in her head until she found her 3rd year timetable. Thursday. Around 11:17. 2009 Jess Parker was currently sat in lecture theatre number three at Pembroke College, and would stay there until midday. Jess wondered how often Hannah and Tom would have kept private meetings like this up before she was interrupted by a harsh beeping. It was the monitor telling her she had three minutes of credit left. She logged out and turned off the machine.

"See you soon Hannah." She whispered with a smile.

She'd done it. Accomplished what she had been waiting so long for. It was time to return home.

. . .

Arriving back in Thetford, Jess clocked her time. She'd arrived through the anomaly just after 9am, now it was just after 1pm. She'd been gone approximately four hours. Back home it was just after four in the morning.

If she moved quickly enough on the other side she could be back into bed before half past.

Grinning, she pulled the locking device out and unlocked the anomaly. Taking a few seconds to admire its beauty once again, she gathered up the device and placed it back in her bag. Then she turned around to make sure no one was near before backing through the shimmering ball of golden shards.

Into broad daylight.

It was daylight back in 2013, late morning according the position of the sun.  
How was that even possible? She'd timed it precisely to ensure this wouldn't happen!

Hearing a sudden movement behind her, she whipped around and gasped in shock and panic. Facing her was a team of five ARC soldiers, EMDs in hand, and at their head, glaring at her, was Lieutenant Harry Renner.

"Drop the bags and get down on the ground, now!"

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_**[A/N: Uh-oh Jess is busted! What's gonna happen now? Find out in a few weeks time! ;)**_

_**A huge thank you to Mijo54 for reviewing Burden - you are awesome! :D  
**__**I have just uploaded a Beta-Reader profile so please feel free to contact me if you require my services!]**_


	7. Aftermath

_**[A/N: I'm back, thank you everyone for being patient! It's been a hectic but incredibly adventurous two weeks. I've been back and forth between York, Leeds and home, and I've even been on a University visit to Leicester today! I'm exhausted, but I'm back safe and sound!  
Right, this chapter is pretty much pure angst for which I apologise. I hate putting our beloved soldier through emotional turmoil but it's necessary for my story, and it WILL get better I promise!]**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

**Aftermath**

* * *

Becker had been in the gym for the last hour and a half, furiously pounding one of the many punch bags attached to the ceiling. His knuckles were bleeding but he took no notice, feeling no pain whatsoever.

He was a mess. Well and truly an emotional mess. He'd hoped punching something would help clear his head, as his time at the shooting range had been cut short by him running out of bullets. But it appeared punching his invisible weight out was having no affect either.

With one final blow he caught the punch bag as it swung back and rested his forehead on it, breathing heavily.

He should have been on a high, just two days ago reaching an important milestone in his first real relationship: six months. But instead he felt a violent whirling mix of anger, grief, and heartbreak.  
Again.

Because there had been no other half to share that special day with.

Jessica.

Becker felt tears well up in his eyes at the mere thought of her name and he punched the bag again before sinking to the floor, running his bloodied hands through his hair. It'd been three months and seventeen days since she'd-

He gulped, sniffing as he rubbed a hand over his face.  
There were still days where he couldn't entirely believe it, where he'd forget and think it was simply just one bad dream. Days where he'd walk into the hub expecting to be met with her brilliant smile. Days where he'd tuck that special bar of chocolate into his tac vest ready to surprise her at the end of their shift.

Only to be eventually reminded of the harsh reality, which was when it would hit him hardest: the fact that it wasn't a dream. The realisation that he'd never see that brilliant smile ever again, never wake up and have her beautiful face being the first thing he saw, never have the opportunity or the honour of spending the rest of his life with her.

Hell, they didn't even reach the most intimate stage in their relationship! It'd all been terminated before it could even begin.

All because of the ARC. It was one vicious, inescapable cycle.

First had been Cutter, though admittedly Becker had never got to know him that well, the Professor having died just weeks after Becker joined. Then had been Danny, Abby and Connor disappearing and getting stranded, presumed dead. All three had once again returned, Abby and Connor to stay following a year in the Cretaceous, but Danny had vanished again on the same day, chasing his deranged brother Patrick (or Ethan, as he'd been known to everyone else). And Becker had still endured the pain of losing them. Then Sarah, killed on the fourth rescue mission by a Future Predator. She'd joined at the same time as Becker had, accidentally recruited following an anomaly at the museum where she worked.

And now his sweet and loving Jess, killed by an Allosaurus at Stansted Airport. She hadn't even been on duty that day. She'd swapped in order to pick up her second cousin, her senior by four years, who was arriving from Washington DC for Jess's twenty-first birthday two weeks afterwards.

Flashes of that horrific November day echoed through his head.

* * *

_"Jessica, listen to me. Stay away from the south end, there's an anomaly."_

_"But I'm there now, that's where I'm meeting Hannah!"_

_"Get out of there, Jess! Turn around and leave or get inside the airport building as quick as you can. I'm on my way."_

_"Becker,** is** there an incursion?"_

_"Yes. It's an Allosaurus. Jessica, move **now**!"_

_A high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream._

* * *

_Becker jumped from the truck, sprinting over to the tangled wreckage that used to be Jess's Mini Cooper. It was upside down. No signs of life._

_Before he knew it he was crawling inside the car, desperately trying to rouse his girlfriend. No pulse. Tears stung his eyes as he yelled at her dangerously limp body, only held in place by the seatbelt._

_He didn't know how long he was there._

* * *

_Wails of sirens. Police, ambulances and fire crews._

_Matt by his side, coaxing him out of the car, promising the emergency crews would get Jess out as soon as they could._  
_Becker refused, then he was being dragged out._

_Abby hugged him as they both cried. Becker couldn't quite take it all in._

* * *

_Dead. Pronounced dead at the scene. Her and four others._

_Jess. Dead._

_Becker was on his knees, crying uncontrollably. How could this have happened?_

_Jess. His girlfriend. After all that time it'd taken him to finally admit he loved her, and now it was all thrown away._

_All the colours gone, just blackness remained._

_No. This was all just one horrid nightmare._

* * *

_Becker cradled Hannah Bails in his arms._

_"I am so sorry." Becker soothed, as tears streamed down his own face._

_Jess's own family could never know the truth of what had really happened to her. It would break them even more than her death already had._

_"I looked up to her so much, she was my little sister. How could this have happened? What did she ever do to deserve this?" Hannah sobbed._

_Becker had no idea._

* * *

_Black suits._

_Black dresses._

_Coloured flowers._

_Coloured headbands._

_Tears._

_Hymns._

_Readings._

_Videos._

_Music._

_Tears._

_Grave._

_Goodbye._

* * *

That last one was from her funeral, which had taken place five days after the accident, nine days before what should have been her twenty-first birthday. The entire ARC staff had attended, along with Jess's family and a few of her old school and university friends invited by Hannah.

The days since had been incredibly dark for everyone who had ever known Jess, but it had particularly taken its toll on the Core Team. Abby and Connor had been Jess's room mates for nearly three years, having been invited to share her flat following their return from the Cretaceous. Matt, after Becker, had been one of Jess's first friends at the ARC. All three of them saw Jess as a younger sibling, fiercely protective of her almost as much as Becker.

Even Emily, who being from the late 1800s struggled with many modern day concepts, cared deeply for Jess. Her death was devastating to the entire team.

Everyone knew Lester had a soft spot for Jess, and not just because he had said so in a memoriam. It was clear from the very start he cared for her like a surrogate daughter. Jess had always been able to deal magnificently with his constant sarcasm, never once letting him get the better of her. He admired her for her advanced skills and for her infectious cheerful disposition in such a dark and dangerous job, something that everyone who knew Jess would instantly agree with.

The sound of the klaxons and the lights flashing red brought him back to the present and he was quickly on his feet, sprinting to the hub.

"Connor. Thompson." he acknowledged. "What's up?"

"Sorry to interrupt you. There isn't an alert, but we thought you ought to see this, as in really right now urgently." Connor said, a nervous tone to his voice. Then his eyes wandered down to Becker's hands. "Then you'd better head up to the medical bay."

He sighed, ignoring the last comment. "What it is Connor?"

But Thompson answered, somewhat reluctantly. The night-shift relief had stepped up to the role of Field-Coordinator four months ago. "You know that Regent's Park anomaly we've been monitoring for nearly two days? Well, take a look at this."

With shaking hands he pressed a few keys on the ADD keyboards, bringing up the CCTV footage. Becker's eyes widened, his heart thumping in his chest.

"Jess?" He choked, mind whirling. Then he pulled himself together enough to put a finger to his comm. "Renner, do you copy?"

"Yes, Sir. I assume you've been informed of the situation. What do you want me to do?"

"Bring her in." Becker replied.

**. . .**

Jess's mind was whirring as she threw herself to the ground as ordered. What had gone wrong? The men in front with EMDs trained on her were all wearing identical glares, almost looks of…was that _loathing_? She decided to go on the defensive.

"Lieutenant Renner, you know me. I'm Jessica Parker, Field-Coordinator. Please let me stand!"

But Renner put a finger to his ear, his attention elsewhere. "Yes, Sir. I assume you've been informed of the situation. What do you want me to do?"

Jess instantly knew it was Becker on the other end. Her stomach clenched.

"Copy that, Sir." He clarified before turning back to Jess. "I have my orders to escort you back to the ARC." Renner said briskly, with no hint of kindness or even respect in his voice.

Jess was roughly pulled to her feet, another soldier holding her bags as she was taken to and forced into one of the black ARC trucks.

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Jess pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. She bit her lip in an attempt to force them back.

"Silence, Jess. I think you owe _us_ the answer to that question." The Lieutenant ordered from behind the wheel.

Jess obeyed, allowing her brain to work out just what was happening. Something had gone very wrong, and not just her timing it seemed…

Once they reached the ARC she was escorted to the same holding cell Ethan had been held in two years ago. It was dark, miserable and uncomfortable. She wanted to protest but knew better, she was in the wrong there was no doubt.

But what she wanted more than anything was Becker. That was what she couldn't get her head around. Becker had spoken to Renner over the comms, she knew it, and yet Becker was allowing her to be locked up like an animal? Where was he? Where was everyone else? What the hell was going on?

She glanced at her purple watch; she'd been there just under an hour now.  
No one had come for her. Not Becker, not her friends, not even Lester or one of the soldiers.

Left totally alone with nothing or no one but herself for company, Jess curled up on the hard bed and cried herself into a fitful sleep.

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_***braces herself for the angry mob***_

_**I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!**_

_**This chapter has gone through several rewrites on my train journeys as it was way too angsty to the point where I was cringing. Please let me know if it's still too angsty for you, or indeed for the story rating - I don't want to disappoint!**_


	8. Interrogations

**CHAPTER 7**

**Interrogations  
**

* * *

"You're from another timeline, aren't you?" Matt stated quietly.

He was sat directly across the table from her in an interrogation room located on one of the lower levels of the ARC. There was a laptop in between them with the webcam pointed at her and next to it laid a small pile of files.

Jess had been brought there by one of the soldiers after being woken from her sleep and once again she had seen no one else. Matt was the first of the team to acknowledge her. But he had just entered the room and started straight away. No hello and no hint of softness in his stoic face, just that statement.

Jess didn't reply as she was trying to process what he meant.

"It's the only rational explanation I can come up with, as I cannot see you pulling a stunt. So Jess, I want you to tell me exactly how you ended up here."

"What do you mean another timeline? I came back through the exact same anomaly I left through but something has changed, something has gone wrong but I don't know what. I've caused something I didn't mean to. Something's not right. I want to see Becker."

"Whatever you did through that anomaly Jess has brought you back into a different timeline. You're just like me now, a paradox."

"What do you mean?" Jess asked, frowning. Matt was beginning to scare her.

Then another figure burst through the door. Jess jumped but then relaxed as the very person she wanted to see entered the room.

"Jess, what the hell did you do?" Becker asked her fiercely as Jess leapt out of her chair. It wasn't his tone that had startled her, instead it was what she noticed was different about him. His eyes were swollen and dark, full of pain and grief. His hands were in bandages and he wasn't smiling.

"I don't know!" Jess replied defensively, panic brewing inside her. "Even I don't fully understand what's going on, I want someone to tell _me_!"

"You're _dead_, Jess! You shouldn't even _be_ here!" Becker yelled.

"What?" The words hit Jess like a physical blow and she stood frozen to the spot.

"Becker, calm down. Jess, sit." Matt ordered.

Once the two of them had done as he'd asked, Matt placed the files in front of her. Scared of what she'd find, Jess reluctantly opened the first file and began to read. It was her own personnel file.

Flicking through it until she reached the end, one paragraph caught her eye.

_Jessica Parker was pronounced dead following the November 3__rd__ 2012 Standsted Airport anomaly alert. More details can be found in the 031112B incident reports from Matt Anderson, Captain Becker, Abby Maitland, Emily Merchant and Connor Temple._

"No!" Jess cried out, unable to stop herself.

"The reports are in there." Matt said, indicating the second file on the desk.

"But, it wasn't me! Oh god what have I done!" Jess was near hysterics. This was not how the plan was supposed to work. But it meant one other thing…

"Hannah Bails, she's still alive?"

"You went to pick her up Jess. You didn't make it. Is that what you changed?" Matt's tone was perfectly calm and innocent but he knew he had her."

"Changed?" Becker choked out.

"Yes." Jess replied resignedly. "Three months ago Hannah died during the Stansted anomaly, _I _was at the ADD! But I didn't even know she was there until my mum told me the next day!"

"What about _us_, Jess?" Becker asked quietly behind her. His voice was thick with grief and shock.

"I've lived three months more than this Jess." Jess answered pointing to the open file on the table. "I have three more months of memories."

"And two days ago?"

"Our six-month anniversary." Jess bit her lip in an attempt to hold back a grin. "You took me to your favourite French restaurant, it was amazing. And afterwards we…" Jess failed to stop her cheeks flushing. "We slept together, _properly_."

Becker's response to that was to violently punch the wall.

"So go over it again, from the beginning Jess." Matt urged her.

Jess took a deep breath and started. "Hannah, my cousin, had been in America for three years, working for a Lawyer firm in Washington DC. On that day I was at the ADD. There was an anomaly in Bishop's Stortford; the incursion was a sole raptor. Then when you'd dealt with that the Standsted one opened. But it would take you at least ten minutes to get there and that wasn't fast enough. I was a fool and hadn't sent a back up team with you – you were on your own. I kept an eye on the anomaly through the CCTV and an Allosaurus came through, you were all still too far away. I couldn't do anything other than watch as the Allosaurus jumped into the road and caused a three-car pileup. You eventually got there and dealt with it but not before all five civilians had been pronounced dead.

"When we got back, my mum called to tell me Hannah had been killed in an accident. But to my knowledge she was in America, so I didn't put two and two together. Then the following day my mum called again with details of the funeral and I found out the truth. Hannah had travelled from America to be at my Aunt's house in Cherry Hinton for my birthday, it was meant to be a surprise."

"But she never made it." Matt finished.

"So what did you do next?" Becker asked.

"We went to Cherry Hinton for Hannah's funeral, Becker."

"Wait, Becker took a day off work?" Matt asked teasingly.

"Shut up."

"And afterwards, I realised I could change things if I had the chance. I was surprised at how little time I needed to wait but my opportunity came. My laptop is equipped with the ADD software so I could monitor all the anomaly dates from home, in secret. The day after mine and Becker's six-month anniversary, I stayed over at his. An anomaly opened to February 2009 that evening. I sneaked out after I was sure Becker was asleep. But I timed it precisely so that I'd be back before morning. I was through the anomaly for less than four hours, when I came back through it was late morning, here."

"Wow, that's a massive feat for you Jess. I would never have expected such a thing from you."

"You know the rules Jess. Why did you do it?" Becker asked. During her storytelling he had stood up and moved around the other side of the table behind Matt so he could see her.

"Like that ever stopped you from going after Abby and Connor, or Matt from going after Emily!" Jess yelled back.

"Friends, Jess. Essential members of the team!" Matt countered.

"Family! Hannah might not mean anything to you but to me she is _family! _She was the big sister I never had and I was responsible for her death! I couldn't just do _nothing_!"

"That's the sacrifice you have to make in this line of work, Jess. People you love are lost, you can't do _anything_ to stop it!" Becker replied fiercely.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door and Emily entered. "Matt, Lester wants to see Jess in his office." Matt had apparently left his earpiece turned off.

"Emily." Jess tried to get her attention but the former Victorian refused to meet her eyes.

"Okay. Becker, we'll meet in Connor's lab in ten?"

Becker nodded as they made their way out of the room. Matt escorted Jess to Lester's office and left without a word.

Jess braced herself, hands lacing themselves in her lap.

"Jess, please explain to me how long you have been into magic tricks."

**. . .**

Becker, Matt, Emily, Abby and Connor had gathered in Connor's lab to be brought up to speed with the situation. The hub, cafeteria and armoury were all too risky; there were too many ears around to overhear them.

"Do we know what's going on yet?" Abby asked.

"Yes." Becker replied. "She talked." It was all he was capable of saying at the moment, still in a state of shock from what Jess had said.

"She's from a different timeline." Matt said bluntly. "One where she is still alive."

Emily, Connor and Abby's faces simultaneously displayed looks of shock.

"What happened to make her come here? Jess would never go through an anomaly willingly, she knows the rules."

"Abby, she's never _near _an anomaly to have the chance to through one?" Connor chipped in. "What if she was just curious? They are like really amazing!"

"Connor, not helping!" Abby scolded. "I doubt she was 'just curious' as she is dead _here. _Something must have happened and something has obviously changed to make her return here."

"You're correct Abby." Matt nodded. "Becker, play the tape."

Becker played the video back from the interrogation room. Abby, Connor and Emily watched, their facial expressions changing from confusion, to shock, to understanding.

When it had finished, Matt spoke. "She thought she was doing a good thing, saving a member of her family she believed she was responsible for killing. Her motive is understandable, maybe even honourable."

"But 2009?" Abby glanced nervously at Connor and then at Becker. Becker knew exactly what she had cottoned on to.

"What's wrong with 2009?" Emily asked.

"That's when Cutter died." Connor said quietly.

"And when we got stuck in the Cretaceous chasing Helen."

"And when Sarah died." Becker added.

"But that didn't appear to phase her, like she didn't even know." Matt said sounding confused.

"Or she would have left it to run its course." Becker added darkly. Then upon receiving confused looks from the team he elaborated. "Jess is much smarter than you give her credit for. She knows messing with the anomalies brings consequences, she knows exactly what happened with Helen Cutter and the early humans. She had to leave it alone or she'd never have been recruited to the ARC."

"Then why risk going after Hannah?" Matt asked.

"The same reason you went after Emily and why Becker tried to rescue us." Abby concluded. "A simple action to bring the ones you care about back to you, but not big enough to disrupt anything too badly."

"And what, the fact that she killed herself in the process isn't disrupting anything 'badly'? Becker replied sardonically.

"But she didn't mean too, Becker. Anyone could see she was horrified when she found out. The whole point was for them to be alive _together_ again, that's obvious!" Abby cried.

"So what happens now?"

"She's got to fix it again. But that's not going to happen." Connor said quietly.

"And why's that?" Becker demanded.

"Because the anomaly's closed." Becker realised the scientist was holding a portable Anomaly Detector. "This was in one of Jess's bags, it's focused on the 2009 anomaly. Or it _was. _It's just disappeared."

He held it up and the screen was indeed blank over Regent's Park. Becker swore.

"Right, I need to talk to Jess." Becker decided, making for the door.

"Becker." Matt called. "If Jess is stuck here, should we let her talk to Hannah?"

Becker stopped and turned, thinking things over in his head. The rest of the team all nodded.

"Yes. I'll call her back." He replied as he opened the door and exited the room. Sprinting down to the lifts to take him back to the hub he activated his earpiece again. "Hannah."

_"Yes Becker?"_

"Get back to the ARC as soon as you can."

_"Copy that."_

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_**[A/N: A special thank you to Prawn Crackers for your amazing support, I hope I deliver up to your expectations! What do you think is going to happen? I have put Jess in a bit of a messy muddle haven't I? Let's hope things will get better! ;)**_


	9. Reunited

**CHAPTER 8**

**Reunited**

* * *

Jess let herself into the menagerie with a swift swipe of her wrist. As everyone was still adjusting to having her back on the scene, Lester had thought it best not take back her post at the ADD just yet. This made Jess miserable as she missed her beloved supercomputer!

So instead of field coordinating she was carrying out various tasks anyone gave her. While the team were currently out on an anomaly alert down south at Weymouth, Abby had asked Jess to feed Rex, Sid and Nancy for her as the assistant Frank Donnelly was off sick.

It was the day after she'd come back through the anomaly, and barely twenty hours since she'd been told she was stuck. The anomaly had closed the previous evening leaving Jess trapped in this timeline. Though technically it _was_ actually home, just with a difference. The difference being she didn't remember a few details since she'd planted them whilst in 2009. And Becker didn't remember the past three months!

She'd stayed at the ARC for the night, in one of the safe rooms similar to where Emily had stayed when she had first come to this time, while she was still under investigation. Everything had since been cleared and Jess was now free to roam the ARC freely. Abby and Emily had brought her all of her clothes which had been stored within the ARC when the current timeline's Jess had died, and she had freshened up, changed into a pale blue tie-dye dress and red heels.

She knew she couldn't go home - back to her flat. She hadn't even asked, as it wouldn't be there for her anymore. The thought pained her; she'd loved that flat to pieces. But on the other hand there was still Becker...

As for the team, they'd all met her from Lester's office last night and hugged her, apologising for not trusting her and telling her they understood. Well all of them except Becker, which Jess had expected but at the same time found it hurt. Then again, she told herself, she'd been the closest to Becker, and him to her. Losing her had completely broken him; he was just taking a lot longer to adjust to having her back.

After next to no contact with him yesterday, Becker had asked to speak to Jess privately as soon as he'd arrived this morning.

* * *

_He led her to the armoury and sat down on one of the benches. Jess sat next to him, turning herself slightly so she was facing him._

"_I'm sorry I ignored you yesterday, my head is still trying to make sense of everything." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Jess, if what you've told us is true then…then you have more memories of being with me than I have being with you?"_

_Jess sighed. She'd expected this. But on the other hand he was willingly talking to her, calmly, friendly and softly. She couldn't ignore him. "Yes."_

"_So...so what's happened? What have I missed?" He stammered, before giving her a shy smile._

_Jess took his hands in hers and looked into his eyes. "Hil, I love you. Three days ago I slept with you and it the most amazing night of my life. Before then things had been slightly awkward. Neither of us wanted to hurt the other by moving too fast. But we were very open with each other; best friends. It had taken me so long to get through to you and just knowing that you were healing and willingly loving me, it meant so much to me._

"_You brought me chocolate quite often - it was our special thing. Especially when I had rough days where I struggled with my work as I had so much guilt and grief inside me. Before three days ago, we'd shared a bed about ten times but we'd never let anything happen. I suppose that made our anniversary even more special."_

_She smiled at him as tears began to slip down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry I mucked all of this up. I would never have done it if I'd known our time together would be cut short. If I could change it, I would."_

_And it was the truth. She loved Captain Hilary Becker with all of her heart and she hated that she'd hurt him. She'd caused him pain and grief and loss by her one selfish action._

"_But you're here now, Jess. You're back." _

_And with that he lowered his head and caught her lips with his. At first it was sweet and gentle but soon it turned passionate as Becker seemingly tried to put all of his emotions into the kiss. Jess let him, kissing him just as passionately back. She'd caused him to be without her for three months and now he was making up that lost time._

_Only when his hand began to wonder up her thigh did Jess pull away, blushing furiously. "No, Becker. Not here, we're at work!"_

"_Then tonight. Come to mine tonight for dinner and stay."_

_Jess couldn't help but giggle. "Of course!"_

_Becker swept her up in his arms and kissed her again. "I love you Jessica Parker!" Then his voice dropped to a whisper in her ear. "You owe me a sixth-month anniversary date!"_

* * *

"_Jess? Jess!"_ Lester's impatient voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yes sir?" She asked.

"_Get up here please, you need to file away these reports."_

"Okay. Just finishing up in the menagerie!" She replied brightly. Sid and Nancy were scuttling around her feet as she brought the food bag out of the cupboard. She knelt down as she poured the food out into the dog bowls then gave each of the Diictodons a loving pet. Jess grinned, they behaved so much like cats!

"_Jess. In your own time."_ Lester complained.

"Coming!" Jess replied as she hurriedly placed the food bag back in the cupboard and scrambled out.

"Right, files." She stated as she entered his office.

"Place these back in the right boxes in the storage area please, Jess. I had them out for a meeting with the Minister this morning."

"Of course, sir." Grabbing the files she flew out of the door and down the corridor towards the lifts. Reaching the right floor on the same level as the car park she efficiently placed the files back into the correct boxes before heading back into the corridor.

Walking quickly back to the lifts, Jess couldn't stop herself from bumping into someone coming the opposite way as she rounded a corner. She opened her mouth to apologise but instead left it hanging as she saw just who she had bumped into. A very familiar figure with her long blonde hair tied in a neat braid, wearing a purple blouse, a grey pencil skirt and black platform heels.

Jess clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Hannah?"

**. . .**

Hannah Bails pressed the button on her car keys to lock her white Audi A5 before heading to the entrance door on the far side.

She had just returned from a difficult court case. It had taken her nearly two days to win but she'd done it. She'd expected nothing less and was very pleased with the outcome.

The judge had been difficult and annoying, but then again the evidence against the young defendant was substantial.

What was known to Hannah as a vicious attack by a Pristichampsus, a crocodilian carnivore from the Eocene epoch, was known to the other attendees of the session as murder. The young defendant Rachel, who was nineteen and nearly six years younger than Hannah, was accused of fatally stabbing her twenty-two year old boyfriend Bradley. The police had failed to recover a murder weapon but a post mortem ruled his injuries as stab wounds. As Rachel had been discovered at the scene, she'd been arrested on suspicion of the attack.

When Becker had asked her to return to the ARC she'd been barely halfway through. Now she was ready for a coffee after she'd handed her report in to Lester. That reminded her.

"Becker, I'm here."

"_Good, get to Lester's office. How did it go?"_

"Brilliant. The judge was an insensitive arse but I did it in the end. The police had no conclusive DNA evidence to charge the girl, simple."

"_That's great. You're doing a wonderful job Hannah."_

"Thanks."

"_There is something I should warn you about first. Don't be too shocked if-"_

"Ooof!"

Hannah had been about to turn a corner before something had collided with her first, knocking her back a few steps. Getting ready to glare at the person who'd run into her Hannah was instead rendered speechless as she took in just who was in front of her. The younger woman clasped both hands over her mouth in an equal look of shock.

"Hannah?" Jess Parker gasped.

This was impossible. Was she dreaming? Then again, was anything so 'shocking' anymore after finding out about the anomalies? Okay then, this was _unexpected_.

She stood staring at her cousin for a few seconds more before managing to speak.

"Jess?"

"_Brilliant."_ Came Becker's sardonic voice in her ear. _"Sorry Hannah. Get to Lester's office now, we're on our way back."_

But Hannah ignored him. Both girls stared a while longer, taking in the sights before their eyes before fiercely hugging each other.

"I'm sorry Hannah, there's a lot to explain to you. Oh it's so good to see you!" Jess clung to her as if she'd never let go, and Hannah was sure her grip was equally as tight. After all, it had been nearly four years since they'd seen each other in the flesh - the day Hannah had left England. And not only that, Hannah reminded herself, Jess shouldn't _be_ here!

Jess suddenly pulled away. "Wait a minute, what are you doing here?"

Hannah chuckled. "I could ask you the same question! I guess we both have stories to tell. Come on, Becker said Lester wants us in his office. You know how impatient that bureaucrat is!"

Minutes later they were both sat in the leather seats in front of his desk. Becker, Matt, Abby, Connor and Emily were also in the room having just returned from an anomaly alert.

"Miss Bails." Lester addressed her. "As you appear to be aware while you were away Miss Parker magically reappeared through an anomaly from the year 2009."

Hannah turned in confusion to Jess beside her who had her head hung, hands twisting in her lap. Jess didn't want her to hear this, of that Hannah was certain. She knew her surrogate sister too well. Something really didn't feel right. Jess didn't _look_ right.

"2009? But Jess you are _so_ older than eighteen!"

"It's a complicated story." Matt cut in.

"That's because she is." Becker added. "She's 21."

"21? But...but that's not possible you _died_ Jess! You were 20!" Hannah's head was reeling. What the hell was going on? "How could you come through an anomaly from 2009 if you're dead?"

She looked at Jess, silently pleading her to speak. But it appeared the former Field Coordinator was at a loss for words. But Hannah knew better, she was feeling guilty.

"Jess speak to me, what's happened?"

Captain Becker walked around from his usual post against the door to stand in front of them, leaning against Lester's desk. He had been the one to break the news to her all those months ago, and yet here he was seemingly comfortable in Jess's presence!

Hannah studied his face, it was totally different to how he'd looked a few days ago. It was no longer tortured by grief and heartbreak, now he was visibly relaxed, even over the moon. As she sat looking at him he cracked a smile.

"Hannah, Jess isn't from here. But now she's here to stay."

_Well that was clear. _

"So, what, are you telling me she's just legged it through an anomaly to save her skin?" Hannah half-joked.

"Close enough." Jess replied quietly beside her. It was the first time she'd spoken. "I'm from a completely different timeline. A timeline where you're dead and I'm not. It was you that died at Stansted, not me."

_Okay that explained...some of it._

"So how did you end up here?"

"I went through an anomaly to 2009. I wanted to warn you in advance so you wouldn't die. But somehow it turned the tables so I died instead - it didn't work. I came back through the anomaly to find out I had died. I'd created a paradox, the time I came from no longer existed."

"Just like mine." Matt cut in. "After New Dawn was stopped."

Hannah was speechless but nodded her head to show she understood.

"And now the anomaly's gone. I can't ever go back. I'm stuck here forever."

But her head was still processing what it had heard ten seconds earlier. "Wait, you say you warned me?"

"Well, I actually warned myself." Jess chuckled nervously. "I wanted to make sure I knew you would come back for my 21st birthday so I would be able to pick you and Tom up - in my timeline it was a surprise, I had no idea. Although it appears I _still_ got it wrong as I got killed picking you up!"

One word caught Hannah's attention.

"Tom? What has this got to do with Tom?"

"He came back with you, didn't he?" Jess's eyes widened as she guessed what was coming.

"No Jess. I came on my own." Hannah frowned. Just how extensive _was_ the damage?

"But, he went over to America with you in the first place right? You and him made up and he left with you, but you never told me."

Hannah sighed. "Yes, we left together. He came as my flat mate, as support so I wouldn't be truly alone. He got a job at the local zoo working a few hours a day while I was 9-5 at the firm. Eventually, just over a year later we started dating. I'd liked him for a long time, I just hadn't admitted it. Then May last year he even _proposed_ can you believe it?! But I couldn't say yes; I wasn't ready. I was making plans for your birthday with our family then in September I told you - you always lived by planning ahead!

"But Tom wasn't happy. He shouted and shouted about how you'd come in between mine and his relationship. He refused to let me leave, refused to come with me, so I dumped him. He kept trying to get me back like he did all those years ago at Cambridge but this time I didn't give in. You were family, you came first."

"So I changed that as well..."

Hannah looked at Jess confusingly and she elaborated. "Tom came back with you, your coming back for my birthday was meant to be a surprise. Tom wouldn't let you help him find somewhere to stay so you went on ahead."

"Why didn't he come back home with me?"

"I didn't even know about him going to America with you until your funeral." She replied quietly.

"Shit, Jess!" Hannah leant forward with her head in her hands, this was just information overload!

"I know." She said apologetically, biting her lip. "It was such a selfish thing to do. I'm so sorry." Tears began to slip from her eyes.

Hannah grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug, she could never be angry at Jess. "It's okay, we're both together now yeah? You're back, I'm back, everything's perfect!"

Jess laughed in response before becoming serious again and practically yelling. "It's not completely perfect though. Becker doesn't remember the last three months with me!"

Becker crouched down in front of her, brushed her hair out of her face and placed his hands on hers. "Jess, we'll get them back."

He looked at her with such tenderness and love in his eyes that Hannah felt her own eyes start to well up before she blinked them away. When she'd first met Becker she was worried about the age gap; it was bigger than Jess and Tom, which was four years. But she also knew that Tom had never looked at Jess in this way despite events in the past. Becker truly loved her and Hannah couldn't argue with that.

"You can stay at my flat tonight, it's much better than one of those claustrophobic rest areas!"

Becker shot her a warning glare. Hannah understood but decided they could easily get around the extra person at the flat as she was away for the week.

"Actually, Becker's invited me to stay at his tonight. But maybe tomorrow?" Jess gave her a watery smile.

"Hey by all means stay with Becker as long as you'd like, I'm not rushing you!"

"Why don't you go over now? Have a break? After all, it's actually _your_ flat Jess." Becker said softly, hands still around hers.

Hannah beamed; Jess would love it so much. "Are you sure, Becks?"

"What?" Jess asked, shocked.

"How else do you think I get here everyday? I moved into your flat after..." She trailed off.

"So what happened after my funeral?" Jess asked.

"Well I couldn't go back to America, not when your mum was dealing with the loss of another family member, first her husband, now her daughter. Becker managed to get me a job here at the ARC. That involved getting told how you'd _actually_ died – there was no way I would ever tell your mum that!

"But finally I knew what you did for a living: dinosaurs, anomalies! Incredibly surreal but it explained quite a lot! Lester could see potential in me and so I was hired. I, however, believed I was only here to allow Becker to keep an eye on me."

At that Becker grinned and winked at her.

"How did you get her a job here?" Jess asked him.

"Brilliance runs in the family." He beamed at her, Hannah couldn't help but laugh. "When I found Hannah at the airport I just couldn't send her back. She needed somewhere to stay so I gave her the key to your flat. You'd told me numerous times about her law background and what she was doing in America. So when we went back to the ARC after we'd dealt with everything, I talked to Lester and he saw a potential use for her."

Hannah took over. "He formed a PR team. My lawyer background proved the perfect weapon. If murder, manslaughter, domestic violence cases etc. are taken to court but _we _know the cause otherwise, I'm sent to prevent innocent civilians from getting punished and having their lives ruined for no reason. I get them off the hook, and I _always_ win."

"But PR was always my...oh, right." Jess winced.

"Having a separate PR team means the Field Coordinator is free of a few extra jobs." Lester began. "But believe me, par Hannah here whose job is a brand new addition, none of them are as brilliant as you, Jess."

"Thank you." Jess beamed through silent tears.

"That reminds me, Miss Bails do you have a case report to hand in?"

That jogged Hannah's memory. "Yes. Yes I do." She fumbled briefly in her bag before producing a sizeable file and placing it on the desk in front of her boss. "Success once again. It was a tough one but I managed to identify and exploit a loophole. The girl was released without charge."

"Excellent, good work. Right, take Jess home with you for the rest of the day and make sure she gets settled in. And you," he pointed at Jess. "As of Monday you're reinstated as the ARC's Field Coordinator, understood?"

"Yes, sir." Jess nodded.

"Right then, chop chop!"

**. . .**

**To be continued**

* * *

_**[A/N: Sorry it was a long one, which I'm making even longer with this lengthy A/N! Oops...  
I thought it appropriate to add Hannah's POV there. I'm not quite sure if I'll get chance to slot it in again, but I wanted her to tell Jess herself!**_

I hope this story is clear and making sense so far. Please PM me and ask questions if it's not quite there.

_**I shall take this opportunity to apologise to you for bodging up the dates. It is with a heavy heart that I shall correct them **__**and you can all forgive me and I can move on!**_

_**Jess and Becker's six-month anniversary is Wednesday 20**__**th**__** February, meaning in Chapter 1 of Beginnings they have only been together for ten weeks and five days as that day is November 3rd. Jess went through the anomaly on the evening of Thursday 21**__**st**__** Feb and arrives back late morning on the Friday 22**__**nd**__**. Meaning this particular chapter is on the Saturday 23**__**rd**__**.**_

_***runs away to amend mistakes and to cower in fear**__*****_

_**I only realised when I was working out what day of the week it was *cringe!* - I do apologise lovelies!]**_


	10. Plans

_**[I'm sorry it's a been a little while longer than usual, I've been having a little writer's block, arrghh! Partially caused by the build up to A-Level results but thankfully that's all over now! I left my writing alone for a few days to see if that would help and voila here we go.  
So now it's back to 'original' Becker, so to speak. We catch up with what's been going on at the ARC whilst Jess is 'missing'. There shall be more of this in time too as everything takes effect.]**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 9**

**Plans**

* * *

The mid-afternoon sun shone brightly over the city, making every tree cast lengthy shadows over the maze of pavements and roads. Pedestrians milling around going about their daily lives carried their coats and scarves in hand. It was an unusually warm for a February day; spring was on its way.

Becker glared at the sky one last time before turning into the ARC, passing security and parking his truck roughly. How could he appreciate it when the one person he wanted to share it with was gone?

He'd just returned from studying the Regent's Park anomaly, the one Jess had slipped through, with a small group of his men. Matt had given them strict orders to not venture through the anomaly, no matter the temptation. Becker had wanted to send someone through to see where abouts it led in terms of geography, but rules were rules. Plus, Becker had his own reasons.

It had been over fourteen hours since Jess had disappeared and Becker was still having a hard time comprehending exactly what she'd done. It was mainly shock more than anything keeping him from disobeying orders.

After setting his security team fitness tasks in the training room, Becker headed straight to the armoury in the hope of clearing his head by cleaning his personal collection of guns. He had no idea how long he was there before Matt appeared in the doorway; it could have been minutes or it could have been hours.

"How are you doing, mate?" he asked quietly.

"Fine." Becker retorted.

"Look, I know what I told you earlier about not going through but hear me out, yeah? I've had a word with Lester and he's agreed that if after twenty-four hours she's still not back then we go after her."

"No."

"I'm sorry?" Matt asked incredulously.

"You know the rules, no one goes through."

"Not even to save Jess?"

Becker stood up and walked towards Matt who was frowning at him. "Who says she even needs saving, Matt? 2009 is hardly a threat to her; no dinosaurs or future predators otherwise I would already be in there after her. I want to figure out _why _first, Matt. Why would she do this? What's her motive?"

It was the one thing that stunned him. Just exactly what had caused Jess to take such drastic action?

"Well from what I've read and heard, there are many things that happened that year. Is that why you don't want to go through, Becker?"

"It's much more complicated than that." The soldier sighed, calming himself down so he wouldn't explode. "When Abby, Connor and Danny were stranded, Sarah and I did everything we could to get them back. They were stuck in the prehistoric past, a time way before humans. Of course I want to go after Jess, Matt, I love her and I want her back. But, that anomaly leads to February 2009. Nothing of what I currently know has happened! Cutter will be still alive, I won't even have joined the ARC, and Sarah, Abby, Connor and Danny are all safe. I've got to discipline myself so I don't…mess things up."

"Mess what up?"

"If any of that changes I won't have Jess. I've just got her and now I've lost her, I don't know what I'd do if I did anything that kept us apart."

"I understand. But Becker we don't know how long that anomaly will remain open. It could close any second now before she's had a chance to get back through."

"But do we risk it Matt?"

"Come back up the hub, you're not helping by moping around down here."

"I'm not moping I'm...thinking." Becker replied defensively, but he followed the team leader anyway.

Once back at the hub he checked with Kyle to make sure everything was fine before seating himself down at his desk and accessing the CCTV footage. Being Head of Security had its advantages. Jess would have to hack, but he was allowed unrestricted access in a heartbeat.

He brought up the clip of Jess running through the anomaly and placed it on a loop. Once again the anomaly in the park was locked and undisturbed before it cut to Jess going through the now open anomaly before it relocked seconds afterwards. It appeared to Becker that Jess had deliberately tampered with it so she would be undiscovered, but something went very wrong as it revealed her interference as she stepped through.

He clicked onto a different camera; one located the opposite side of the anomaly. This one Jess hadn't touched but that didn't surprise Becker. As it led to only a few years ago there was no reason to worry about an incursion and so the camera had been solely trained on the anomaly and not the surrounding area. However Becker was now watching Jess approach the gateway into the past. Foster's team hadn't be able to guard the area as they'd been called away to another anomaly the other side of London. Lucky for Jess…

She walked as if she was in a trance and he suddenly realised this was the very first time she'd seen an anomaly with her own eyes. It was obviously having a breath-taking affect on her. He watched as she tore her eyes away for a few seconds to press the required keys on the pad of the device before stepping back as the anomaly sprung back to size. She stood a few seconds more, admiring the golden sphere of crystal shards before looking over her shoulder and running.

Becker rubbed his hands over his face. That explained why her timing was out. She'd stared at the anomaly for too long, her time loop had ended and she'd been revealed. If it wasn't for that detail, Becker wasn't sure what he'd think had happened to her and that made his stomach churn.

He started to go over possible reasons for doing such a thing, for sneaking out under his nose and deliberately running through an anomaly. What had happened in the past few months that would give her reason to break ARC regulation? Then he remembered a critical turning point; Hannah Bails. Since her cousin's death Jess had been quite frankly all over the place.

"Do you think it has something to do with her cousin, Hannah?" Abby asked over his shoulder making him jump.

"What?" Becker asked, taken aback.

"Me and Con think it makes sense, as does the scribbled notes in front of you it seems." She gave him a teasing smile. He looked down on the desk and saw he had indeed been making notes - all over his due paperwork.

It was as if a light bulb had appeared in his head.

"Abby, Jess told me all about Hannah the day she heard about her death. They went to University together and they were practically sisters, more than you and her are now." His mind was whirring as he fitted together the pieces. "The reason she was so upset and was on the edge of a breakdown was because she blames herself for what happened. She thinks she could have prevented it if she'd have known that Hannah was coming back from the States on that day."

"You think she's gone to get Hannah back, to warn her?" Abby asked, a frown on her face but unmistakable worry in her eyes.

"Without a doubt. We've got to go after her. Matt." He stated, the last word into his comm.

"_Yeah?"_

"Get up here, we've got to go after Jess. We know what she's doing."

"_On my way."_

Matt and Emily joined Abby, Connor and Becker in the hub.

"I don't know how we're going to do it but we've got to get her back. Damage might already be done but we won't stop until she's back here safe with us." Becker began, heading for the lifts.

"Wait!" Kyle Thompson called from the ADD, making the team whip around outside Lester's office.

"What is it, Thompson?" Becker growled.

"It's gone." He said with a very worried look on his face. "The anomaly's just closed. Jess is stuck."

Becker violently punched the nearest wall.

**. . .**

"Messing with time is dangerous. The best we can do is estimate what Jess has gone and done, and figure out the possible consequences." Matt was saying. They were all in Lester's office trying to figure out the best course of action. The bureaucrat was currently absent, having a meeting with the Minister at the Home Office.

Becker was stood against the back wall, arms folded over his chest, listening to the conversation without any input. Jess was gone. It was something he couldn't quite get his mind to accept.

"Me, Connor and Becker think it's to do with her cousin, Hannah, killed at the airport anomaly last November? Knowing Jess, she's had this planned for a while, maybe since the day she died." Abby replied.

"Has anyone got an explanation as to how she would know the existence of the anomaly?" Matt asked.

"She stole the portable detector from my lab." Connor said quietly. He was staring at the table, seemingly ashamed of leaving it lying around. "I noticed it was missing a few days ago but I didn't think anything of it. I lose stuff all the time."

"Either that or she's been monitoring the anomalies from her laptop."

Everyone, including Becker, stared at Matt in shock.

"How-" Becker began.

"Jess is the Field Coordinator, chosen for her expertise with computers and flawless organisation skills. I wouldn't be surprised if she's got the ADD software downloaded to her laptop. Mine is the same, I did it as soon as I started here. It allows us to monitor everything from home, as if the ADD was in your living room. My guess is that she's been monitoring every anomaly, and date, from home since before Christmas. That's how she knew the 2009 one existed."

Becker sighed, running a hand through his hair. "She was on her laptop last night at my flat but I didn't think anything of it. That must have been when she found out."

He felt like such a fool. If he'd have kept a closer eye on her, if he'd allowed her to help him with dinner, kept her occupied, she wouldn't have known.

"Why would she do all of this? More importantly, in secret without anyone knowing?" Abby demanded.

"She must have known we'd prevent her, no matter how honourable her intentions." Emily replied. "I would have done anything to save my friend Charlotte. We risked getting discovered by bringing her to a modern time in the hope she would be cured. But we lost her before we'd even left the anomaly's sight."

"Of course she knew we'd stop her. That's precisely why we didn't know." Becker said quietly, gritting his teeth to quell his anger. "It was a completely reckless thing to do. There are just so many things that could go wrong. And now we've lost her for good."

"I'm sorry, mate." Matt said sincerely, walking over to place a hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing we can do now."

"Woah, hold up!" Connor cried. "We're just going to give up? Abby and I would not have survived a_ week_ in the Cretaceous if we ever lost the hope of making it back. Did Becker ever give up hope that we'd make it back alive? Matt you even went through that anomaly to bring Emily back!"

"Connor, I didn't mean-" the team leader began but Connor cut him off.

"No, Matt! This is Jess; we can't give up on her! Becker didn't give up on saving her when she got bit by that beetle. The situation was far worse then than it is now. We've got to find some way to help her!"

Abby gave her fiancé's hand a squeeze. "Con, we'll get her back."

"All I meant was we can't do anything to help her as we have no way of getting to her. The chances of another anomaly opening to the same time are incredibly slim, but didn't mean we should give up altogether. I want her back as much as any of you do." Matt answered quietly.

"We monitor the anomaly site." Becker decided. "I don't care what the odds are. I'll have men stationed 24/7. Connor can do some technical stuff to make sure we're notified the second there's any change. I'd like to borrow an anomaly detector to have with me at home. Jess took all her stuff with her, I don't have access to her laptop."

"I'll go get one now." The scientist nodded, heading from the room.

"Right. Becker, get your men on a rota and make sure that site is observed at all times. You'll have to do it yourself in the absence of Jess." Matt ordered and the soldier nodded in response. "Abby, catch up with Connor and get him all the help you can. Emily, we're going to tell Lester what's happened, and that we have a plan."

"And after that?" the former Victorian asked.

"We wait."

Becker felt a sharp tug in his chest as they exited the office and headed in separate directions. The fact that Jess was gone had broken his heart but not knowing how long it would take to get her back was just too painful to think about. But he promised himself, just like he'd done with Sarah about Danny, Abby and Connor all those years ago, that he would never give up until Jess was back, safe and sound in his arms.

**. . .**

To be continued


	11. Flatmates and Catch-Ups

**CHAPTER 10**

**Flatmates and Catch-ups**

* * *

"Just make yourself at home, you know where everything is after all."

Hannah moved to the side to allow Jess to step through the door into the flat, her_ own_ flat, before closing it behind them. Looking around Jess was startled to find it nearly exactly how she'd left it just days ago, before reminding herself that the Jess who had lived here had been gone for almost four months.

It felt really odd to think of it like that. She mentally shook herself to allow her brain to come to terms. _Come on Jessica it was __**you**__, _she thought.

The kitchen walls were the same burgundy, all the furniture in the lounge area was exactly the same, and her computer still stood on the island counter.

She turned to her cousin. "You haven't changed anything?"

"How could I? Everything here is a reminder of you, the three years that I missed and never got a chance to ask you about." Hannah replied softly, smiling sadly before chuckling. "Besides, I love it how it is, very stylish! And Becker would have my head!"

Jess laughed before glancing at the stairs. "So I'm guessing you have my room?"

"Of course. And your mum has Abby and Connor's old room. They and Becker helped to settle me in here. Told me so many stories about you – before Becker got me into the ARC. After I knew, the stories got a _lot_ wilder! If I thought you going to Cambridge at such a young age was crazy, you can imagine how much I freaked out finding out everything you've faced over the past few years."

"How is my mum?" Jess asked, guilt flooding her as she sat down on the chair in front of her computer but turning it to face Hannah. Not only had she hurt Becker and her friends by what she'd done, but also her immediate family. Her mum had fallen apart when her dad had died, she couldn't imagine how it must have been for her to lose another loved one.

Hannah let out a breath then flicked the kettle on and began to rummage in the cupboards. "Coping, somehow. She puts on a brave face but I still hear her crying at night sometimes. I try to get her to talk but she just says she's fine and changes the subject. She's back home with my mum and dad at the minute, but she's coming back tomorrow."

Jess sighed. "I really didn't want it to end up like this. I won't be allowed to see her I've really messed up!"

Hannah stopped what she was doing and walked over to her. She placed her hands on Jess's shoulders and smiled. "Hey, everyone understands why you did what you did. You couldn't help what happened, you didn't want it but sometimes things happen that way. Besides, you know what's important now? The one wrong has been put right; we all have you back! I for one am _not _complaining about that! I may not completely understand how it all works but I don't care, I have my little sister back!"

Jess beamed, standing up and throwing her arms around her. Even if Jess disagreed with what she said, Hannah always knew what to say to cheer her up. She'd always been there for her and Jess couldn't help but let a few tears slip from her eyes.

Hannah made coffees and they sat on the sofa. Jess took the remote and switched a rom-com movie channel on but wasn't interested in watching it. She just wanted to talk to Hannah, talk about anything and everything. She'd missed it so much.

Her cousin began talking about the ARC team and how she'd become close friends with them, especially Becker.

"He's like a big brother to me, well they're all siblings really. It's a funny side effect, getting caught up in a dangerous career. But Becker's just been there for me. I guess we were there to help and heal each other. He seems so different now you're back, it's really good."

"That's hard to me to contemplate," Jess replied. "Him not knowing what's happened between us, I mean. I was in his bed two days ago, and he doesn't remember any of that. It's like he's been given amnesia after a knock during an incursion!"

"But you're able to show him now, right?" Hannah said suggestively, winking. Jess chuckled and felt her cheeks flush in response.

"You should have seen him this morning Han, when he asked me over to his for a date tonight. The smile on is face was just childlike!"

"He's just over the moon to have you back. Forget the circumstances now, it doesn't matter, everything is how it should be." Hannah said, beaming and squeezing Jess's hand.

Jess managed a weak smile back. Hannah had always been able to forgive her easily, but she wasn't sure whether she'd ever be able to forgive herself for the amount of pain she'd caused.

"So tell me about your end. I wanna hear all about America and what's happened since!" Jess said brightly.

"Well you know the basics, I started at the law firm in 2009. It was great I absolutely loved it. Making a difference to people's lives was such a rewarding experience. Socially there was a lot going on too. Me and Tom would go out to clubs and such with his friends and my work colleagues like every week. As time went on I made my way up through the system – it works slightly different over in the US but I got the hang of it quickly. I'm stubborn and fierce and was able to stand my ground and fight whenever I needed to and I got myself quite a reputation.

"And then came the fiasco with your twenty-first birthday. You know what happened with that. I broke up with Tom, came back and started at the ARC. And to be honest, it's great being home again. I got my British passport back a month ago, there's no way I'm going back now! Hey speaking of, you'll have celebrated your birthday won't you?"

Jess bit her lip guiltily. "Yeah, but it was only two weeks after you'd died Han. It wasn't much of an occasion to celebrate; I was a mess. Lester tried to suspend me from the ARC and Abby tried to get me to go back home, Becker just tried anything to cheer me up… It wasn't as fun as I'd have wanted. But I guess it was worse for you?"

Hannah nodded. "Emily told me how they'd been planning a party for you at the ARC, but of course they never got around to finalising it."

Jess rested her cup against her forehead until the heat became too much to bear and she tore it away. "God, I've messed everything up! All that was supposed to happen was that I got you back, nothing else!"

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Hey that'll be Becker!" Hannah smiled, placing her cup on the coffee table and leaping up. Jess placed hers on the table as well before slumping back against the sofa, her head in her hands. She jumped a mile when two hands squeezed her shoulders from behind.

"Hey, sorry it's just me." Becker apologised. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine. Sorry you startled me that's all, I must have zoned out."

He then appeared in front of her, his hand held out. She accepted it and let him drag her to her feet and into a hug. As always, Jess melted into his body, loving the feel of his muscles all around her, the warmth of his body heat relaxing her.

"Mmm I forgot how good your hugs are." Becker mused as Jess pulled away taking his hand. She entwined their fingers and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Thanks for having me round Han." Jess beamed.

Hannah embraced her tightly and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Anytime Jess." Then she turned to Becker. "I want her back at the ARC in one piece tomorrow, do you hear?"

He smirked at her in response but Jess didn't miss the slight tinge of red on his cheeks.

"Yes Ma'am." He joked and both women laughed.

"Alright, now get going you lovebirds!" She said.

Becker stepped forward and kissed her cheek before briefly hugging her. "Take care, yeah?"

"You too Becks!" She smiled.

Jess turned to Becker, laughing. "Your nickname?"

"More of a private joke." Hannah mused. "Your boyfriend has a secret passion for football, or more specifically the film Bend It Like Beckham. His name sounds quite similar to player David Beckham so the name kinda stuck!"

Becker slapped her head in retaliation but there was a grin on his face.

"Oh?" Jess teased.

"And I'll bet it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the main character is called Jess." Hannah said flatly, mockingly shaking her head. "I think you should be prepared for a few soccer practices at weekends Jess!"

"Hannah Evelyn Bails, shut it!" Becker teased before chasing after her. Hannah shrieked as she tried and failed to dodge his hands, all the while Jess was doubled up with laughter. He caught her and effortlessly flipped her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift and swung her around.

"Hey let me down!" Hannah squealed from halfway down his back.

Becker walked back over to Jess, a cheeky smirk on his face. "Where shall I put the trash?"

"Hey! Hilary James Becker put me down right now! Jess, help me?"

Jess just kept on laughing. She was enjoying the simple scene before her eyes and how close the bond between the pair of them was. Becker carefully lowered Hannah back to her feet and she punched him playfully in the stomach.

"Ow!" Becker cried, over exaggerating.

"Okay, we're getting out of here before this ends in tears!" Jess said brightly, taking Becker's hand. In response, he just lifted Jess over his shoulder the exact same way he'd done with Hannah.

"Your turn!" Becker grinned as Jess shrieked.

"See you!" Hannah called, as Becker carried Jess out of the flat.

**. . . **

No sooner had Becker set her down on her feet next to his truck did Jess snake her arms around his neck and pull his lips to hers. The kiss was both passionate and gentle, Jess savouring the sensation of his soft lips against her own. Becker eventually pulled away and rested his forehead on hers, a hand gently cupping her cheek.

"Jess I…" he began, but Jess cut him off by placing a finger on his lips.

"Shh. I love you Hilary Becker and tonight you're going to see just how much. Come on, let's go."

Becker held her hand during the ride back to his flat, not wanting to lose the simple contact he'd missed out on for so long. No sooner had they reached the flat did Jess head to his room to deposit her things. Her bags that had originally been confiscated on her return had been given back to her that morning.

However when she turned to exit the room she did a double take. Next to his wardrobe were several shoe racks, filled with the rest of her shoes.

"They were never in storage at the ARC." Becker said quietly from the doorway. He was propped up against the frame, watching her tenderly. "I had all of your stuff here, I'm sorry for not telling you. I didn't think it was right for you to be told I'd kept them all along; it would have sounded weird. Waking up everyday and seeing them reminded me of you and what could have been between us."

Jess walked over to him and kissed him gently, cupping his face in her hands. His hands went to her waist.

"Thank you." She said simply.

"Now about dinner: Chinese or homemade korma?" He asked, smirking.

Jess bit her lip to stop herself laughing. "Definitely homemade korma, and I want to help!"

Becker kissed her in response before grabbing her hand and dragging her to the kitchen. As they busied chopping and stirring, Jess having a bizarre sense of déjà vu, they talked about work, the latest film releases and Hannah.

"I think she's brilliant, it must be a thing in your family! After everything last November, she was always there for me like a younger sister. I have no siblings so it felt so natural to bond with her in that way. She told me all about your University antics and I told her about some of your work antics. She roared with laughter when I told her about the time you asked me in your typical nervous-rambling manner if I was single or even gay."

Jess blushed with embarrassment as she recalled the moment. It had been a few days after Abby and Connor had become her flatmates after returning from their hellish year stuck in the past and Abby, having noticed her obvious-to-everyone crush on the Captain, had nagged her to as him.

Jess playfully punched him in the arm and he grinned teasingly in return. "I was only nineteen, and inexperienced when it came to men. I improvised!" She replied, pouting teasingly back.

Once they had eaten dinner (and a very delicious chocolate cheesecake dessert!) they settled themselves on sofa. Becker put on a TV channel that was airing The Simpsons. However he turned his attention to Jess as he put his hands over hers and lovingly squeezed them.

"Jessica, I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me that you're here with me right now. I've been in a bad place the past few months but I already feel so much better. I love you so much and I want you by my side forever. I've lost you once and I will never, ever let it happen again."

Jess sat and listened to his words, allowing him to express feelings he had no doubt had to push out of his head.

"With Hannah and your mum being in your flat you really have nowhere else to go but I want to ask you properly. Jessica Parker, will you move in to my flat?"

Jess beamed and chuckled at his awkwardness. "Yes of course silly billy!" she exclaimed, leaning forwards to capture his lips. Then she broke the kiss to whisper in his ear. "Now let's get to the fun, Captain Becker!"

With that, he lay down on the sofa and pulled him on top of him so she was straddling him, their kisses heated, passionate and hungry.

After a while Jess broke away to stand up and hold her hand out to Becker, which he immediately accepted and allowed her to lead him into the bedroom. As they passed the doorway he lifted her up and resumed the kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist, catching the edge of the door with one foot and giving it a light shove allowing it to close softly behind them.

**. . .**

To be continued.

* * *

_**[A/N: I only realised after I'd finished writing that the second half was meant to be Becker's POV but hey, I think it works as a continuation of Jess?**_

**_Thank you everybody for being patient with me, I'm sorry for the delays between updates. I've been on holiday again, encountered writer's block, getting sorted for the new academic year and the past few days I've had a bit of a sickie spell. I'm back at college this Thursday so my updates may get less and less frequent depending on workload, but I won't give up!]_**


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